Patricia J. Happe

Nutritional quality and tannin astringency of browse in clear-cuts and old-growth forests

We compared nutritional quality and morphology of 4 browse forages of black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) and Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) in clear-cuts and old-growth forests on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Browse in old-growth forests had a greater proportion of leaves, was more succulent, and had higher percent crude protein than browse in clear-cuts. There was no consistent pattern of difference in fiber content and digestibility between forest types. Tannin astringency was greater in clear-cuts than in old growth. Because tannins decrease digestible protein (DP), DP was more available in shrubs grown in old growth than in clear-cuts, little DP was available to cervids browsing in clear-cuts. Retention of patches of old growth in the Pacific Northwest will provide optimum year-round habitat for cervid foraging

Conceptual Models for Research and Monitoring of Elwha Dam Removal—Management Perspective

Abstract Removal of two dams > 30 m from the Elwha River, on Washington States Olympic Peninsula, can provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the geomorphic and biologic consequences of this activity. Resulting information can inform management decisions regarding Elwha resources, as well as future dam removal projects. Research and monitoring priorities for each river section (above, between, and below the dams) and nearshore depend on the location-specific effects of the dams, planned active restoration efforts, and conceptions of Elwha ecosystem dynamics. Several river section- or discipline-specific workshops were held 2001 to 2005 to describe impacts to the Elwha River, potential responses to dam removal and priorities for research and monitoring. We present conceptual models based on summaries of these workshops to provide a framework to integrate and relate studies that are currently planned or are underway. We identify the need for an organizational framework – including conceptual models, study designs, data management and integrated sample designs – for research and monitoring that will increase understanding of ecosystem response, and engender additional financial support.

Space and Habitat Use by Black Bears in the Elwha Valley Prior to Dam Removal

Abstract Dam removal and subsequent restoration of salmon to the Elwha River is expected to cause a shift in nutrient dynamics within the watershed. To document how this influx of nutrients and energy may affect black bear (Ursus americanus) ecology, we used radio-telemetry to record movements of 11 male and two female black bears in the Elwha Valley from 2002–06. Our objective was to collect baseline data on bear movements prior to dam removal. We calculated annual home ranges, described seasonal timing of den entry and emergence, and described seasonal patterns of distribution and habitat use. Adaptive kernel home ranges were larger for males (mean = 151.1 km2, SE = 21.4) than females (mean = 38.8 km2, SE = 13.0). Males ranged widely and frequently left the watershed during late summer. Further, they exhibited predictable and synchronous patterns of elevation change throughout each year. Bears entered their winter dens between 8 October and 15 December and emerged from dens between 10 March and 9 May. Male bears used low-elevation conifer and hardwood forests along the Elwha floodplain during spring, mid- to high-elevation forests and meadows during early summer, high-elevation forests, meadows and shrubs during late summer, and mid-elevation forests, shrubs and meadows during fall. Data acquired during this study provide important baseline information for comparison after dam removal, when bears may alter their late summer and fall movement and denning patterns to take advantage of energy-rich spawning salmon.

Recent population trends of mountain goats in the Olympic Mountains, Washington

Abstract Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) were introduced in Washingtons Olympic Mountains during the 1920s. The population subsequently increased in numbers and expanded in range, leading to concerns by the 1970s over the potential effects of non-native mountain goats on high-elevation plant communities in Olympic National Park. The National Park Service (NPS) transplanted mountain goats from the Olympic Mountains to other ranges between 1981 and 1989 as a means to manage overabundant populations, and began monitoring population trends of mountain goats in 1983. We estimated population abundance of mountain goats during 18–25 July 2011, the sixth survey of the time series, to assess current population status and responses of the population to past management. We surveyed 39 sample units, comprising 39% of the 59,615-ha survey area. We estimated a population of 344 ± 72 (90% confidence interval [CI]) mountain goats in the survey area. Retrospective analysis of the 2004 survey, accounting for differences in survey area boundaries and methods of estimating aerial detection biases, indicated that the population increased at an average annual rate of 4.9% since the last survey. That is the first population growth observed since the cessation of population control measures in 1990. We postulate that differences in population trends observed in western, eastern, and southern sections of the survey zone reflected, in part, a variable influence of climate change across the precipitation gradient in the Olympic Mountains.