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Cariboo Region Badger Project: Year End Report 2006-07

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Cariboo Region Badger Project: Year End Report 2006-07 FINAL REPORT CARIBOO REGION BADGER PROJECT: YEAR END REPORT 2006-07 Prepared by: Corinna Hoodicoff, M.Sc., R.P.Bio. Summit Environmental Consultants Ltd. #200-2800 29th Street Vernon, B.C. V1T 9P9 and Roger Packham, R.P.Bio. Ministry of Environment PO Box 1600 100 Mile House, B.C. V0K 2E0 March 2007 (Revised December 2008) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Cariboo Region Badger Project was initiated in 2003 to determine the distribution and abundance of badgers at the northern periphery of their range to support recovery activity for the species. To date, we have identified 736 burrow locations and recorded 101 observations of animals reported by the public. In 2006, we collected 188 shed and snagged hair samples from 67 burrow locations and 4 tissue samples from road killed badgers. We assigned 108 samples to individual badgers using DNA fingerprinting. We have identified a total of 51 badgers (23 females, 28 males) in the Cariboo region, including 2 litters (5 kits in 2005, and 4 kits in 2006). The estimated badger population (Jolly-Seber model) in the study area was 24.5 badgers (95% CI = 18.3 – 34.1) in 2004, and 32.3 badgers (95% CI = 26.6 – 44.5) in 2005. The minimum number of badgers alive in the population in 2006 is 26. We estimated areas used by individual badgers to be as small as 0.3 km2 and as large as 1280 km2. Nine badgers have died since 2003, and at least 8 of these were confirmed roadkills. Recovery activities to date include the proposal of 11 WHAs for designation under the Forest and Range Practices Act, treatment of WHAs and First Nations reserve lands to reduce forest encroachment/ingrowth, development of best management practices to maintain/improve habitat, and posting 5 badger road crossing signs on Highway 97 to warn motorists of high potential roadkill areas. Research in 2007 will focus on the hazards of roads for badgers with financial support from the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and the B.C. Conservations Corps. Cariboo Region Badger Project Year End Report 2007 ii 30-March-2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Cariboo Region Badger Project was initiated and coordinated by Roger Packham, Ministry of Environment, 100 Mile House, British Columbia. The project was funded by the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund (HCTF), Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP), and the BC Conservation Corps (BCCC), BC Ministry of Environment (MoE), and BC Ministry of Forests and Range (MoFR). Funding for helicopter survey flights was provided by the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (MWLAP, now Ministry of Environment) and Ministry of Forests (MoF, now Ministry of Forests and Range). Field work was conducted by Roger Packham, Corinna Hoodicoff, Gerry Dileva, Philippe Verkerk, Michael Janzen and Julie Steciw. DNA was analyses were completed by Wildlife Genetics International (Nelson, BC), and Dr. David Paetkau assisted with interpretation of data. Bill Chapman (MoFR) provided advice and conducted assessments of soils used by badgers, and Bill Harrower assisted with some statistical analysis. The Canoe Creek Indian Band (CCIB) Inventory Team was coordinated by Scott Cousins, Natural Resource Coordinator, and included Mildred Kalelest, Melvin Louis, Fred Louis, Kevin Harry and Allison Harry. Their efforts were funded by the CCIB and the Interdepartmental Recovery Fund. Thanks are extended to the public for reporting badger sightings and to private landowners and Crown grazing licencees for maintaining badger habitat. Eric Lofroth (MoE) and Trevor Kinley (Sylvan Consulting) provided valuable comments on earlier versions of the report. Cariboo Region Badger Project Year End Report 2007 iii 30-March-2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................vi 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 1.1 Project Background...................................................................................................1 1.2 Project Objectives.....................................................................................................4 2.0 METHODS ...................................................................................................................4 2.1 Local Awareness of Badgers ....................................................................................4 2.2 Badger Observations, Burrow Locations and Mortalities ........................................4 2.3 Hair Collection and DNA Fingerprinting .................................................................5 2.3.1 Hair Collection......................................................................................................5 2.3.2 Genetic Analyses ..................................................................................................7 2.4 Population Estimation...............................................................................................8 2.5 Distribution of Animal Detections and Movements .................................................9 3.0 RESULTS .....................................................................................................................9 3.1 Local Awareness of Badgers ....................................................................................9 3.2 Badger Observations and Burrow Locations..........................................................10 3.3 Hair Collection and Identification of Individual Badgers ......................................12 3.3.1 Hair Collection....................................................................................................12 3.3.2 DNA Sample Viability........................................................................................13 3.3.3 Error Checking and Markers...............................................................................14 3.4 Population Estimation.............................................................................................15 3.4.1 Individuals ..........................................................................................................15 3.4.2 Population Estimate ............................................................................................17 3.4.3 Family Groups ....................................................................................................18 3.4.4 Mortality .............................................................................................................19 3.5 Badger Distribution and Movements......................................................................20 4.0 DISCUSSION.............................................................................................................22 4.1 Badger Observations and Burrow Locations..........................................................22 4.2 Hair Collection and Identification of Individual Badgers ......................................22 4.2.1 Hair Collection and DNA Viability....................................................................22 4.2.2 DNA Markers......................................................................................................23 4.3 Population Trends ...................................................................................................23 4.4 Population Estimators and Study Design................................................................24 4.5 Distribution of Badgers and Movements ................................................................25 Cariboo Region Badger Project Year End Report 2007 iv 30-March-2007 5.0 BADGER RECOVERY AND FUTURE RESEARCH...............................................26 5.1 Provincial Inventory Standards...............................................................................26 5.2 Wildlife Habitat Areas ............................................................................................26 5.3 Habitat Management...............................................................................................28 5.4 Road Crossing Mitigation.......................................................................................28 6.0 SUMMARY................................................................................................................29 7.0 REFERENCES ...........................................................................................................32 Appendix A Photos Appendix B Community Awareness Materials Appendix C Badger and Burrow Locations Appendix D Hair Collection Locations Appendix E Maternal Burrows and Family Groups Appendix F Home Ranges Cariboo Region Badger Project Year End Report 2007 v 30-March-2007 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1. Burrows, badger sightings and badger mortalities recorded during the Cariboo Region Badger Project.....................................................................................11 Table 3.2. Ecosections (Demarchi 1996) where burrows and badger sightings were recorded. ..........................................................................................................11
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