Bridge‐Seton Mountain Goat Lick Identification FWCP – Coastal Project 12.W.BRG.04 Final Report submitted to: Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program ‐ Coastal Attn: Allister McLean Submitted by: Cooper Beauchesne and Associates Ltd. Northwest Office 1670 Aldous Street South Hazelton, BC, V0J 2J1 Tel: 250.842.5779 Contact: Karl Bachmann [email protected] March 31, 2013 CBA Ltd. Bridge‐Seton Mountain Goat Lick ID March 31, 2013 Executive Summary British Columbia (BC) contains approximately 50% of the world population of mountain goats, giving it a high provincial responsibility for conservation efforts for this species. For some populations of mountain goats in BC, mineral lick use is a critical component of their life history. Whether this is also true for mountain goat populations in the dry east side of the Coast Mountains (so called ‘Inner Coastal’ populations) however, is not known. Over the past 20 years, mountain goat populations in this area have been slowly declining. BC Hydro has extensive hydro‐electric operations in the Bridge and Seton River systems (located in the ‘Inner Coastal’ area) that may impact low‐elevation mountain goat mineral licks (licks). Incorporating mountain goat location data collected during a previous study in the Cayoosh Range of the Coast Mountains near Lillooet, BC, I used a GIS and orthophotos to identify potential mineral lick locations in the area. Once potential lick sites had been identified, I deployed motion‐activated cameras to confirm presence/absence of mountain goats and measure the relative degree of use of each site. In total, I identified three potential lick sites, two of which had been tentatively identified as licks in the previous study that supplied the goat location data. I confirmed heavy mountain goat use at the two previously identified sites, both of which were high elevation sites well removed from BC Hydro operations. I did not detect any mountain goat use at the third lick site, a low elevation site. Although both heavily used sites are unlikely to be impacted by BC Hydro activities, I recommend that given the importance of mineral licks to mountain goat life history, they be protected from impacts of future developments. 2 CBA Ltd. Bridge‐Seton Mountain Goat Lick ID March 31, 2013 Table of Contents Table of Contents............................................................................................................................ 2 List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. 3 List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... 4 List of Appendices........................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... 5 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 6 1.1 Background ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Objectives............................................................................................................................ 8 2.0 Study Area........................................................................................................................... 8 3.0 Methods............................................................................................................................ 10 3.1 Location data overlay and lick site ID ............................................................................... 10 3.2 Ground‐truthing and camera deployment ....................................................................... 12 3.3 Data analysis ..................................................................................................................... 15 4.0 Results............................................................................................................................... 15 4.1 Melvin Lick ........................................................................................................................ 16 4.2 Upper Downton Lick ......................................................................................................... 19 4.3 Lower Downton Lick ......................................................................................................... 23 5.0 Discussion and Recommendations ................................................................................... 25 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................. 27 Appendices.................................................................................................................................... 29 List of Figures Figure 1. The Cayoosh Range, BC................................................................................................... 9 Figure 2. Mountain goat locations from VHF collar locations in the northern Cayoosh Range, BC, overlaid on 1:50,000 topographic map sheets. Note cluster of locations at low elevations along Machute Creek. Triangle symbols are locations of VHF collared mountain goats (blue=1997, black=1998). ............................................................................................................. 11 Figure 3. Mountain goat locations from VHF collar locations in the northern Cayoosh Range, BC overlaid on a high resolution orthophoto. Triangle symbols are locations of VHF collared mountain goats (blue=1997, black=1998). ................................................................................... 12 Figure 4. Motion‐activated trail camera setup at the Lick_3 lick site, Cayoosh Range, BC. Note camera on swivel mount in the foreground; lick site is patch of rock‐free soil to left of person.14 Figure 5. Map of confirmed lick locations in the Downton Creek area, BC................................. 16 Figure 6. Melvin Lick site above Melvin Lake, BC. Red arrow indicates location of lick site at crest of ridge. ................................................................................................................................ 17 Figure 7. Melvin Lick site above Melvin Lake, BC. Note the heavily trampled area and light‐ coloured, chalky textured soil....................................................................................................... 18 Figure 8. Adult male mountain goat using the Melvin lick above Melvin Lake, BC..................... 19 3 CBA Ltd. Bridge‐Seton Mountain Goat Lick ID March 31, 2013 Figure 9. Upper Downton lick site looking north, Downton Creek, BC. Dashed black lines indicate trails; red arrows indicate groups of lick excavations or sub‐licks (see Figure 10)......... 20 Figure 10. Lick excavations at the Upper Downton lick site, Downton Creek, BC. For reference, the short axis of the yellow field notebook is approximately 20 cm in length. Red numbers in each photo correspond to lick sub‐sites as indicated in Figure 9................................................. 21 Figure 11. Adult female mountain goat (lower left quadrant) with head obscured in hole excavated into soil surface (see sub‐lick 1 picture in Figure 10), Upper Downton creek, BC...... 23 Figure 12. Lower Downton lick sites, Downton Creek, BC. Dashed black lines are trails, green circles are lick excavations under Douglas‐fir trees. .................................................................... 24 Figure 13. Excavation of soil and rock from under a Douglas‐fir tree, Downton Creek, BC. Note light, calcareous soil. For reference, the short axis of the yellow field notebook is approximately 20 cm in length. ............................................................................................................................ 24 List of Tables Table 1. Date, time and duration of visits made by mountain goats to the Melvin lick, Melvin Lake, BC......................................................................................................................................... 18 Table 2. Date, time and duration of visits made by mountain goats to the Upper Downton lick, Downton Creek, BC....................................................................................................................... 21 List of Appendices Appendix 1. Potential lick sites identified using VHF location data and orthophotos analysis, Cayoosh Range, BC........................................................................................................................ 29 Appendix 2. Advertisement for project update talk to Lillooet Naturalist Society, 13‐Dec‐2012. ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 Appendix 3. Digital audio file of Kamloops, BC radio interview of project lead biologist Karl Bachmann by CBC morning show ‘Daybreak’............................................................................... 32 Appendix 4. Final financial statement for Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program – Coastal project 12.W.BRG.04, Bridge‐Seton Mountain