Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) Report; West Beaver Lake Project, Technical Report 2005

• Main Author: Entz, Ray
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: 13 HYDRO ENERGY; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; GEESE; CONIFERS; DEER; EVALUATION; FORESTS; HABITAT; LAKES; MANAGEMENT; WATER; WETLANDS; Canada; Beaver Lake; Canada Goose
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/947092; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/947092; https://doi.org/10.2172/947092

On September 7, 2004, the Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) was used to determine baseline habitat suitability on the West Beaver Lake property, an acquisition completed by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in September 2004. Evaluation species and appropriate models include bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, mallard, muskrat, and white-tailed deer. Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values were visually estimated and agreed upon by all HEP team members. The West Beaver Lake Project provides a total of 82.69 Habitat Units (HUs) for the species evaluated. Emergent wetland habitat provides 8.80 HUs for mallard, muskrat, and Canada goose. Conifer forest habitat provides 70.33 HUs for bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, mallard, and white-tailed deer. Open water provides 3.30 HUs for mallard, muskrat, and Canada goose. The objective of using HEP at the West Beaver Lake Project and other protected properties is to document the quality and quantity of available habitat for selected wildlife species. In this way, HEP provides information on the relative value of the same area at future points in time so that the effect of management activities on wildlife habitat can be quantified. When combined with other tools, the baseline HEP will be used to determine the most effective on-site management, restoration, and enhancement actions to increase habitat suitability for targeted species. The same process will be replicated every five years to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of management strategies in improving and maintaining habitat conditions while providing additional crediting to BPA for enhanced habitat values.