Displacement of Mountain Caribou From Winter Habitat by Snowmobiles
Abstract: Mountain caribou are an ecotype of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ) that live in subalpine forests in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, extending into northern Idaho and Washington, USA. These caribou are listed as Threatened in Canada, Endangered in the United States, a...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.2193/2006-387 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2193%2F2006-387 |
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crwiley:10.2193/2006-387 2024-10-06T13:52:20+00:00 Displacement of Mountain Caribou From Winter Habitat by Snowmobiles SEIP, DALE. R. JOHNSON, CHRIS J. WATTS, GLEN S. 2007 http://dx.doi.org/10.2193/2006-387 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2193%2F2006-387 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor The Journal of Wildlife Management volume 71, issue 5, page 1539-1544 ISSN 0022-541X 1937-2817 journal-article 2007 crwiley https://doi.org/10.2193/2006-387 2024-09-11T04:15:09Z Abstract: Mountain caribou are an ecotype of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ) that live in subalpine forests in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, extending into northern Idaho and Washington, USA. These caribou are listed as Threatened in Canada, Endangered in the United States, and are the subject of recovery planning efforts in both countries. Many areas of mountain caribou winter habitat experience intensive use by recreational snowmobilers. During 4 surveys, we recorded caribou on all 4 census blocks with little or no snowmobile activity (x̄ density = 0.41 caribou/km 2 ), but during 3 of 4 years, we observed no caribou on the census block with intensive snowmobile activity. The year we observed caribou on the snowmobile block, most were using areas inaccessible to snowmobiles. We used a Resource Selection Function (RSF) based on radiotelemetry data for the area to compare habitat quality among the different census blocks. The absence of caribou from the intensive snowmobile area during most years could not be explained by differences in habitat quality. The RSF predicted that the intensive snowmobile area could support 53‐96 caribou (95% CI). We conclude that intensive snowmobiling has displaced caribou from an area of suitable habitat. We recommend that snowmobile activity be restricted from all or most high‐quality mountain caribou habitat as part of the recovery planning process. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rangifer tarandus Wiley Online Library British Columbia ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) Canada The Journal of Wildlife Management 71 5 1539 1544 |
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language |
English |
description |
Abstract: Mountain caribou are an ecotype of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ) that live in subalpine forests in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, extending into northern Idaho and Washington, USA. These caribou are listed as Threatened in Canada, Endangered in the United States, and are the subject of recovery planning efforts in both countries. Many areas of mountain caribou winter habitat experience intensive use by recreational snowmobilers. During 4 surveys, we recorded caribou on all 4 census blocks with little or no snowmobile activity (x̄ density = 0.41 caribou/km 2 ), but during 3 of 4 years, we observed no caribou on the census block with intensive snowmobile activity. The year we observed caribou on the snowmobile block, most were using areas inaccessible to snowmobiles. We used a Resource Selection Function (RSF) based on radiotelemetry data for the area to compare habitat quality among the different census blocks. The absence of caribou from the intensive snowmobile area during most years could not be explained by differences in habitat quality. The RSF predicted that the intensive snowmobile area could support 53‐96 caribou (95% CI). We conclude that intensive snowmobiling has displaced caribou from an area of suitable habitat. We recommend that snowmobile activity be restricted from all or most high‐quality mountain caribou habitat as part of the recovery planning process. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
SEIP, DALE. R. JOHNSON, CHRIS J. WATTS, GLEN S. |
spellingShingle |
SEIP, DALE. R. JOHNSON, CHRIS J. WATTS, GLEN S. Displacement of Mountain Caribou From Winter Habitat by Snowmobiles |
author_facet |
SEIP, DALE. R. JOHNSON, CHRIS J. WATTS, GLEN S. |
author_sort |
SEIP, DALE. R. |
title |
Displacement of Mountain Caribou From Winter Habitat by Snowmobiles |
title_short |
Displacement of Mountain Caribou From Winter Habitat by Snowmobiles |
title_full |
Displacement of Mountain Caribou From Winter Habitat by Snowmobiles |
title_fullStr |
Displacement of Mountain Caribou From Winter Habitat by Snowmobiles |
title_full_unstemmed |
Displacement of Mountain Caribou From Winter Habitat by Snowmobiles |
title_sort |
displacement of mountain caribou from winter habitat by snowmobiles |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.2193/2006-387 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2193%2F2006-387 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) |
geographic |
British Columbia Canada |
geographic_facet |
British Columbia Canada |
genre |
Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
The Journal of Wildlife Management volume 71, issue 5, page 1539-1544 ISSN 0022-541X 1937-2817 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2193/2006-387 |
container_title |
The Journal of Wildlife Management |
container_volume |
71 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1539 |
op_container_end_page |
1544 |
_version_ |
1812180711338147840 |