| USDA | Wolverine, lynx, and fisher habitat and distribution maps, draft hierarchical approach and draft conservation strategies. | 1994 | Unpublished memo from Western Forest Carnivore Committee Chairperson Bill Ruediger (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region, Missoula, Montana) to Forest Supervisors (R-1), Regional Foresters (R-2, R-4, R-5, and R-6), and cooperating agencies (state and federal). September 14, 1994 |
Note: this analysis is excerpted from Buecking, 1998.
Western Forest Carnivore Committee draft Conservation Strategy
This document was produced in 1994 as a result of 4 years of effort on the part of members of the Western Forest Carnivore Committee, the chairperson for which is Bill Reudiger. General information about current range of wolverines is provided, along with specific habitat related guidelines. These include the following major points:
&Mac183; Assess and designate drainages that are suitable habitat and assign each area as either Primary or Secondary Wolverine Conservation Area according to its inherent quality.
&Mac183; Primary Wolverine Conservation Area-
&Mac183; maintain at least 40% as "high quality habitat" and 40% at minimal quality habitat objectives
&Mac183; maintain 1mi/sq-mi or less of open road
&Mac183; Secondary Wolverine Conservation Area-
&Mac183; maintain at least 20% as "high quality habitat" ad 30% at minimal habitat objectives
&Mac183; maintain 2mi/sq-mi or less of open road
&Mac183; Maintain at least 50%of the forest perimeter as 50 years or greater age stands and provide linkages between all sub-drainages.
&Mac183; High quality sub-drainages (summer/fall)
&Mac183; maintain 50% of forested stands at over 100 years of age
&Mac183; maintain >75% at 50 years or greater
&Mac183; maintain <25% at 50 years or younger
&Mac183; maintain <10% at 20 years or younger
&Mac183; Minimal quality sub-drainages (summer/fall)
&Mac183; maintain 30% of forested habitat as at least 100 years
&Mac183; maintain 60% at 50 years or older
&Mac183; maintain <30% at 50 years or younger
&Mac183; maintain <20% at 20 years or younger
&Mac183; High and minimal quality sub-drainages (winter/spring)
&Mac183; maintain as per big game winter range guidelines for white-tailed deer (provide highest quality wolverine habitat), elk, mule deer, or bighorn sheep.
Analysis
This document provides the most specific guidelines related to habitat management for wolverines currently written. More precise amounts of areas, breakdown of age-classes for forested areas, road densities, and corridor criterias are provided, creating a plan that is seemingly workable and possibly better received by land managers who are not required to interpret general, vague principles. In and of itself, however, this is not adequate and several questions and concerns arise.
Buecking (1998) writes of this document as it pertains to the wolverine:
“This document was produced in 1994 as a result of 4 years of effort on the part of members of the Western Forest Carnivore Committee, the chairperson for which is Bill Ruediger. General information about current range of wolverines is provided, along with specific habitat related guidelines...
“This document provides the most specific guidelines related to habitat management for wolverines currently written. More precise amounts of areas, breakdown of age-classes for forested areas, road densities, and corridor criterias are provided, creating a plan that is seemingly workable and possibly better received by land managers who are not required to interpret general, vague principles. In and of itself, however, this is not adequate and several questions and concerns arise.” (see record for Buecking 1998)
Recommendations from this document that pertain to the lynx:
o Maintain more than 10% of suitable lynx habitat as denning habitat;
o 40-60% of suitable habitat should function as travel cover;
o To function as travel cover, canopy cover should exceed 30%;
o To function as travel cover, stem density should be at least 200 stems per acre;
o For forage habitat, maintain high stem densities (>2,000 stems/acre), 6 feet in height; maintain 50% or more of large stands unthinned to encourage high densities of snowshoe hare.
The document makes an important preliminary attempt toward establishing road density standards, by recommending a standard of 1 mile of road per square mile in "primary" lynx conservation areas, and not to exceed 2 miles of road per square mile in "secondary" lynx conservation areas.
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