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 A scientist skis into the backcountry of Glacier National Park, Montana, in search of lynx tracks preserved in snow. Hair snares were also employed in 2001 to determine animal presence. Laura Hudson
Back to Chapter 2:Science-Based Management Articles Inventories yield large benefits for Devils Postpile National Monument By Linda Mutch Carl Sandburg Home: Biodiversity in a small park By Anne Ulinski New report on air quality in California Class I national parks By Annie Esperanza and Judy Rocchio Assessing potential social consequences of deer management in Cuyahoga Valley By Kevin L. Skerl “Flightlines”: Developing partnerships for migratory bird conservation in the North Cascades By Robert C. Kuntz II USGS science supports NPS in managing park resources By John Dennis, Sharon Kliwinski, and Lindsay McClelland Other Developments USGS science helps protect Congaree Swamp Effects of snowmobiles on wildlife MGM2: Economic analysis for park-community planning Process emerges for park vital signs water quality monitoring Award-winner profiles - Weber and Finley honored for science-based management efforts Ungulate management - Tule elk at Point Reyes Technology in monitoring - Knowing where the falcons go |
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 By Laura Hudson Management of threatened and endangered species has become a major undertaking in the National Park Service. Starting in 2000, the Natural Resource Challenge funded new positions and expertise in the Biological Resource Management Division (BRMD), expanding the ability of the NPS Threatened and Endangered Species Program to assist parks. For example, the BRMD staff initiated a lynx conservation agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Management policies revised in 2001 mandate that parks inventory, monitor, restore, and maintain any listed species and their essential habitat. With these policies in mind and with the recent listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) as threatened, parks feel an increased urgency to inventory and monitor these reclusive cats. Lynx are sensitive indicators of environmental change, as their presence or absence reflects the integrity of northern forest ecosystems. Little is known about the status of lynx populations in parks and much of the scientific technology for detecting lynx presence is relatively new. To determine what scientific information is currently available to parks, the Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit organized an interagency lynx workshop in 2001. This workshop included an overview of research conducted by federal and state agencies, parks, nonprofits, and universities on techniques for lynx habitat mapping, inventory and monitoring, and genetic sampling. As an outgrowth of the workshop, the BRMD developed a cooperative agreement with the University of Montana to fund genetic analysis for lynx hairs. Agencies agreed to use National Lynx Detection Protocols to provide data consistency across administrative boundaries. Defined research needs include patterns of lynx movements and home range selection as they relate to population viability, prey resources, and anthropogenic influences. Because of their large home ranges, a collaborative research approach identifies prime potential habitats that are known to support lynx by using a forest matrix that includes a variety of age and structural classes. Parks are working closely with neighboring agencies to survey all potential habitat as completely as possible. Methods currently used to locate lynx include ground and aerial snow tracking, remote camera stations, substantiated sightings with follow-up tracking, live trapping, and hair snares. Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks used standardized snow tracking procedures in 2001. Grand Teton National Park will be initiating tracking surveys in 2002. All three parks used hair snare sampling in 2001. Hair samples, coupled with genetic analysis, help determine accurate species classification, and sometimes individual and sex identification. Results include Glacier National Park’s confirmation of at least six lynx from 2000 to 2001. Despite numerous historic sightings at both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, only two potential snow tracks were found in Yellowstone, and using hair snares, no lynx hairs were found in Grand Teton. Since persistence of lynx appears to be closely tied to snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) distribution and density, surveys continue in the state of Montana near Glacier, and the University of Montana is proposing to begin hare surveys in Yellowstone in 2002. Working together, the National Park Service and adjacent land managers employ an ecosystem approach to inventory lynx in a cost-effective and productive manner. The study of lynx movements and home range selection gained from this collaborative effort will help the Intermountain Region understand the population dynamics of this threatened species and enable it to fulfill its obligation to conserve lynx on federal lands. |
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This material is from Natural Resource Year in Review--2001, published by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in May 2001 (publication D-2255) /YearInReview/yir/yir2001/02_management/02_1_hudson.html Last Updated: |
