Effects of Water Levels on Productivity of Canada Geese in the Northern Flathead Valley, Final Report.

• Main Author: Casey, Daniel
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: 13 HYDRO ENERGY; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; GEESE; POPULATION DYNAMICS; HABITAT; EVALUATION; POWER GENERATION; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS; BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION; COLUMBIA RIVER; DAMS; PROGRESS REPORT; ANIMALS; BIRDS; DOCUMENT TYPES; FOWL; NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS; RIVERS; STREAMS; SURFACE WATERS; US DOE; US ORGANIZATIONS; VERTEBRATES; Canada; Kerr; Branta canadensis; Canada Goose
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6129884; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6129884; https://doi.org/10.2172/6129884

The Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power Planning Council calls for wildlife mitigation at hydroelectric projects in the Columbia River System. Beginning April, 1984, the Bonneville Power Administration funded a study of the effects of the operation of Hungry Horse and Kerr Dams on the western Canada goose (Branta canadensis moffittii) inhabitating the Flathead Valley of northwest Montana. The study was conducted by personnel of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MDFWP), to: (1) identify the size and productivity of this population, (2) identify current habitat conditions and losses of nesting and brood-rearing areas, (3) describe the effects of water level fluctuations on nesting and brood-rearing, and (4) identify mitigation alternatives to offset these effects. Annual pair and nest surveys were used to document the location and fate of goose nests. The number of known nesting attempts varied from 44 in 1984 to 108 in 1985, to 136 in 1986 and 134 in 1987. Fifty-four percent of the annual meeting nesting effort took place on elevated sites which were secure from the flooding and dewatering effects of fluctuating water levels. An average of 15 nests were found on stumps in the remnant Flathead River delta, however, an area strongly influenced by the operation of Kerr Dam. Annual nest losses to flooding and predation attributable to fluctuations caused by the dam were recorded. 53 refs., 24 figs., 35 tabs.