Harvest dynamics and winter habitat use of the pine marten in southwest Montana

92 Pages·1991·3.5 MB·English

by  Fager, Craig William

£
441
SHa5r9v9eMs7t4Od44yN7naTFm2iAhcdsNwahAnd19Sw9iT1ntACe.i1ThFaEaWg*eL"r'IBRARY JOBPROGRESSREPORT
RESEARCHPROJECT
30864000758287
DEC 23 2QQ0
STATE: Montana
PROJECTNO: W-lOO-R-4 TITLE: StatewideWildlifeProgram
ELEMENTNO: V TITLE: FurbearersandPredators
STUDYNO: FB-1 TITLE: Furbearers
SUB-PROJECTNO: 2 TITLE: ResearchandTechnicalServices
JOBNO: 3 TITLE: HarvestDynamicsandWinter
HabitatUseofthePineMarten
inSouthwestMontana
STATEDCCUJilC'lTSCOLLECTION
PeriodCovered: October1, 1989-September30, 1991 JAN n1992
MONTANASTATELIBRARY
HELEN1A51,5MEO-NSTt*A^NA59620
Preparedby: CraigW.Fager Approvedby: JohnD.Cada
JohnP.Weigand
DonA.Childress
Date: September20, 1991
-
AgtM-2-4992
fvlUM30.1997
HARVEST DYNAMICS AND WINTER HABITAT
USE OF THE PINE MARTEN
IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA -V
.
by
Craig William Eager
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
of
Master of Science
•" in ' -^c-
Fish and Wildlife Management
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bozeman, Montana
September 1991

APPROVAL
of a thesis submitted by
Craig William Fager
This thesis has been read by each member of the thesis
committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding
content, English usage, format, citations, bibliographic
style, and consistency, and is ready for submission to the
College of Graduate Studies.
Date Cochairperson, Graduate Committee
Date Cochairperson, Graduate Committee
Approved for the Major Department
Date Head, Major Department
Approved for the College of Graduate Studies
Date Graduate Dean

ill
STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE
In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for a master's degree at Montana State
University, I agree that the Library shall make it available
to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations
from this thesis are allowable without special permission,
provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made.
Permission for extensive quotation from or reproduction
of this thesis may be granted by my major professor, or in
his absence, by the Dean of Libraries when, in the opinion
of either, the proposed use of the material is for scholarly
purposes. Any copying or use of the material in this thesis
for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written
permission.
Signature
Date
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the U.S. Forest Service, Montana
Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (MDFWP) and Montana
State University for supporting this project. Furbearers
Unlimited also provided funding at a critical time.
Mike Frisina, Kurt Alt, Mike Ross, Keith Aune and Phil
Schladweiler provided logistical and/or laboratory support.
Al Harmata loaned invaluable telemetry equipment. Ken
Coffin deserves special credit for his efforts in the field.
Jeff Jones, Brent Costain, and Barbara Clemmens of the
Wisdom Ranger District helped with logistics. Bob Button
and crew helped with field work. Claude Coffin, Ron
Neighbor, and Dan Trochta of the Hebgen Lake Ranger District
provided logistic and field support. Roger Gowan and Sherry
Metzger provided valuable assistance in data analysis.
Charlie Depas, Roland Whitman, Mike Ross, and Joe
Clemmens deserve special credit for advice on trapping. I
would also like to thank my committee members Lynn Irby,
Rick Douglas, Harold Picton, Bill Gould and Bob Moore for
field assistance and direction in manuscript preparation.
V
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS V
LIST OF TABLES viii
LIST OF FIGURES xiii
ABSTRACT xiv
INTRODUCTION 1
Study Areas 2
Upper Big Hole 3
West Yellowstone Flats 4
Beaver Creek 6
METHODS 8
Field Procedures 8
Live Trapping 8
Fur Trapping 9
Marten Locations 9
Track Transects 10
Habitat Analysis 10
Habitat Type Determination 11
Clear-cut Evaluation 11
Overstory and Canopy Evaluation 11
UGnrdouenrdstoFruyelanadndGrLoougngdingCovSelrashEvEasltuiamtaitoinon. .. 1132
Statistical Analysis 13
Live-trapping and Harvest 13
Regional Harvest and Pelt Price 14
Home Range 14
Habitat Selection 15
Physical Habitat Features 16
RESULTS 18
Analysis of Trapping 18
Live Trapping 18
Southwest Montana Marten Harvest 19
—
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS Continued
Page
Marten Pelt Prices 21
Study Area Harvest 22
Relative Population Density 24
Big Hole 24
Beaver Creek 25
West Yellowstone Flats 26
Home Range 27
Habitat Selection 28
Big Hole 28
Resting Locations 29
Foraging Locations 31
Habitat Use Relative to Forestry 31
West Yellowstone Flats 32
Resting Locations 33
Foraging Locations 34
Habitat Use Relative to Forestry 35
Beaver Creek 36
Physical Habitat Features 37
Logging Slash and Ground Fuel 37
Big Hole 37
West Yellowstone Flats 37
Canopy Cover 39
Big Hole 39
West Yellowstone Flats 39
Basal Area 41
Big Hole 41
West Yellowstone Flats 42
Trees per Hectare 42
Big Hole 42
West Yellowstone Flats 43
Stand Density Index 43
Big Hole 43
West Yellowstone Flats 45
Snags per Hectare 45
Big Hole 45
West Yellowstone Flats 46
U.S. BFiogresHtoleService Summary Statistics . . . .4466
West Yellowstone Flats 47
Ground Cover 49
Big Hole 49
West Yellowstone Flats 51