5 5 s 599.7358 F2MMG 1984 kEA3E RETURN OOCUMENTS COLlECnoN : Mfln5l985 MOWANA srATE UffiASy W'ENA, MONTANA 5,620 Rocky Mountain Front In Cooperation with Lewis & Clark National Forest June 1984 DATE DUE reh 1 1 1 / A!iq 1 -7- 7nn^ _ . DEMCO 38-301 Montana Mountain Goat Investigations Pocky Mountain Front Prepared by: Gayle Joslin Wildlife Division Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks In Cooperation With Lewis and Clark National Forest USDA Forest Service June 198 4 ABSTRACT Management recommendations, based on the attached mountain goat seasonal habitat maps and the endorsed Interagency Rocky Mountain Front Wildlife Guidelines, involve seasonal restrictions on human activities within mountain goat habitat. Thirty-three and three mountain goats have been captured and marked from the Blackleaf and Our Lake mineral licks, respectively since 1979. Collective home ranges of males are 50.2 percent larger in summer and 47.7 percent larger in winter than those of females. Ranges of males are 9.4 percent larger and females are 4.7 percent larger in summer than in v/inter. Females are more faithful to their home ranges than are males based on average distances between yearly geographic activity centers. Individual home range sizes varied from 16 square km for an adult female to 178 square km for an adult male. Male home ranges may overlap more than those of females. Approximately 23 percent of the study area is used by the 23 radio-marked goats captured at the Blackleaf mineral lick. As of May 1984, 10 radio collars are functioning on mountain goats. Association tests between all combinations of 2 radio-marked goats revealed that 75 percent of all female-to-female associations were in the range of 2 to 6 km while 70 percent of the male-to-male associations were greater than 6 km. Eighty-nine percent of all associations in the 0 to 2 km range involved juvenile goats. The study area is divided into 3 major segments within which 8 known and 2 potential population centers exist. Based on 8-9 helicopter surveys, the population trend in the north and center segments appear to be stable. Status of the southern segment is uncertain. Although drawbacks to using a Lincoln-Peterson Index were demonstrated, a liberal population estimate for the center Teton-Dupuyer segment varies from 95 to 157 mountain goats. Of the 6 marked goats which died since 1979, 2 were avalanche victims , 2 were hunter kills and 2 v/ere possible poaching mortalities. At least 5 kids of radio-marked females died since 1980. Only 1 of 4 adult radio-marked females raised a kid in 1983. Discriminant analysis of 4 environmental variables revealed that slope and elevation are the most important factors to mountain goats in selecting seasonal habitat, followed by aspect and distance to the nearest driveable road. All types of seasonal habitats generally occur on slopes of 70 percent or greater and at elevations of 1829 meters or above. Fifteen mineral licks were recorded. Seven months of food habits information from feeding site exams and fecal analysis indicate similar results in rank order of shrubs, grass and forbs during late winter and spring, then the order shifts to forbs, grass and shrubs through the summer. Energy exploration activity amounted to 115, 28 and 188 miles of seismic lines being tested within mountain goat habitat during 1981, 1982 and 1983, respectively. Other human activities within the study area are addressed including livestock grazing, fire control, road and trail management and hunting. The current hunting permit levels in hunting districts 414 and 415 occur within the 4 to 7 percent range of the estimated population which -2- IS generally used in establishing hunting seasons on mountain goats. Information collected over the course of this project has been used to develop the mountain goat portion of the Rocky Mountain Front Interagency Wildlife Guidelines. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables 6 List of Figures , 7 List of Appendices 10 Acknowledgements 12 Map of the Study Area 13 Introduction 14 Methods 17 Trapping and Marking ....................... 17 Monitoring 17 Population Analysis 18 Habitat Analysis 18 Seasonal Habitat Use 19 Food Habits Results and Discussion 20 Population Dynamics 2 0 Trapping and Marking 20 Collective Home Ranges ................ 20 Individual Home Ranges 21 Associations . , 23 Population Centers 24 Population Trends 24 Birch Creek-Badger Creek Area Teton River-Dupuyer Creek Area Sun River-Deep Creek Area Population Estimates 27 Mortality 28 Habitat Use 29 Seasonal Habitat Selection 29 Seasonal Distribution 32 Summ.er and Winter areas 32 Kidding-Nursery Areas 32 Breeding Areas 33 Mineral Licks 33 Food Habits and Feeding Site Analysis . 33 Human Activities . 36 _4_ Timber Management, Livestock Grazing, Fire History, Roads and Trails 36 Oil and Gas Exploration 37 Hunting 38 Management Recommendations 41 Mountain Goat Seasonal Use Areas 41 Kidding-Nursery . 42 Breeding 42 Mineral Licks 42 Occupied Yearlong Habitat 43 Suitable Low Occupancy Habitat 4 4 Transitional Habitat 44 Human Activities , 44 Facilities 44 Oil and Gas Exploration 45 Livestock Grazing 45 Timber Management 46 Fire Control 45 Habitat Manipulation 46 Figures 4-7 Appendix 1Q3 Literature Cited 97 -5- LIST OF TABLES 1. Collective home range sizes of twenty-three radio-marked mountain goats which use the Teton-Dupuyer portion of the study area. 2. Home range information for twenty-four radio-marked mountain goats. 3. Association results in percent: distance between any two mountain goats. 4. Nine mountain goat helicopter surveys conducted from the North Fork Dupuyer to the South Fork Teton portion of the East Front during winter and summer, 1979 to 1984, 5. Frequency distribution of habitat parameters existing within a portion of the East Front mountain goat study area, based on 1463 random points. 6. Frequency distribution of habitat parameters on the East Front used by mountain goats during the kidding-nursery period, based on 153 observation points. 7. Frequency distribution of habitat parameters on the East Front used by mountain goats during the breeding period, based on 266 observation points. 8. Frequency distribution of habitat parameters on the East Front used by mountain goats year long, based on 2237 observation points. 9. Ranking and relative abundance of grass, forbs and shrubs on monthly mountain goat feeding sites as compared to relative abundance of grass, forbs and shrubs in monthly mountain goat fecal samples. 10. Percentage of grass, forbs and shrubs in the diet of mountain goats from. March through September 1981, as determined by microhistological analysis of fecal samples. 11. Mountain goat harvest on the East Front, 1955-1983. -6- LIST OF FIGURES 1. Relocations of 23 radio-marked mountain goats on the Fast Front, 1979-1984. 2. Mountain goat records from the Badger Creek area of the East Front, 1941-1984. 3. Mountain goat records from the South Badger Creek and North Birch Creek areas of the East Front, 1941-1984. 4. Mountain goat records from the South Birch Creek and Teton River areas of the East Front, 1941-1984. 5. Mountain goat records from the South Teton River and Deep Creek areas of the East Front, 1941-1984. 6. Collective summer and winter home ranges of radio-marked male and female mountain goats on the East Front, 1979-1984. 7. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain qoat 1729. 8. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goats 5261 and 0529. 9. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain Qoats 0829, 4922 and 9121. 10. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain qoat 2220. 11. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goats 2302 and 4301. 12. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goats 2402 and 5302. 13. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain qoat 2902. ■ 14. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goats 8141 and 5902. " ' 15. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain qoat 7239. • ^ . 16. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain qoat 1859. ^ 17. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain qoats 2692 and 0131. -7- 18. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goat 1802. 19. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goat 6982. 20. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goat 8612. 21. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goat 3402. 22. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goat 7082. 23. Home range and geographic activity center of mountain goat 7881 . 24. Mountain goat seasonal habitat on the East Front study area. 25. Guide to topographic maps of mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front. 26. Legend for mountain goat seasonal use maps on the East Front . 27. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Hyde Creek . 28. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Half Dome Crag. 29. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Mitten Lake . 30. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front Crescent Cliff. 31. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front Morningstar Mountain. 32. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Swift Reservoir . 33. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Fish Lake . 34. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Gateway Pass . 35. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Walling Reef. -8- 36. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Volcano Reef. . . 37. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Porphyry Reef. 38. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Mount Wright. 39. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Cave Mountain. 40. 44, Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Gates Park. 41. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Our Lake . 42. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Ear Mountain. 43. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Arsenic Mountain. Mountain goat seasonal use areas on the East Front - Castle Reef. 45. Roads and trails on the East Front receiving some type of motorized use. 46. Number of mountain goat permits and goats harvested in Montana, 1941-1982. 47. Number of mountain goat permits and goats harvested on the East Front, 1955-1983. -9- APPENDIX 1. Monthly clima tological data from three stations on the East Front (Blackleaf , East Glacier, Gibson Dain) . 2. Annual climatological data from three stations on the East Front (Blackleaf, East Glacier, Gibson Dam) . 3. Mountain goat observation form. 4. Codes for mountain goat observation form. 5. Mountain goats captured and marked on the East Front of the Rocky Mountains, 1979-1982. 6. Body measurements of eleven mountain goats captured at the Blackleaf lick site during June and July, 1981 and 1982. 7. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of East Front, March 11 and 12, 1981. 8. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of East Front, July 11, 12 and 18, 1981, 9. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of the East Front, April 1982. 10. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of the East Front, July 1982. 11. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of the East Front, July 1983. 12. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of the North Fork Dupuyer to South Fork Teton portion of the East Front, April 30 and May 1, 1984 . 13. Locations of mountain goats observed within the East Front study area during the March (circles) and July (squares) 1981, helicopter surveys. 14. Locations of mountain goats observed within the East Front study area during April (squares) and July (circles) 1982, helicopter survey. 15. Locations of mountain goats observed within the East Front study area during July 1983, helicopter survey. -10- 16. Locations of mountain goats observed within the East Front study area during April 30 and May 1 , 1984 , helicopter survey. 17. Location and description of mountain goat feeding sites examined during 1981. 18. Average percent frequency and cover of general vegetation classes from five mountain goat feeding sites during March through September, 1981. 19. Average percent frequency and cover of plant species from five mountain goat feeding sites measured each month from March through September, 1981. 20. Plant species known to have been fed upon at mountain goat feeding sites. 21. Plant genera which occurred in monthly mountain goat fecal samples. 22. Relative percent occurrence of the top 10 plant genera in monthly mountain goat fecal samples. 23. Rocky Mountain Front wildlife guidelines. -11- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Individuals respons.i.ble for supporting and promoting this project include Jim Mitchell, Arnold Olsen, Bob. Martinka and Jim Posev/itz - Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks; and Roger Evans Lewis and Clark National Forest. Those who provided technical information and field and office assistance include: Gary Olson, Kristi DuBois, Richard DeSimone, Lewis Young, Helga Ihsle-Pac, Marilyn Wood, Barbara Buls, John McCarthy, and Dan Hook. Terry Lonner and Dalton Burkhalter provided computer and statistical consultation. Jerry Moore and Peter Lesica identified plant specimens. Gene Sherman and Doug Getz provided aerial services for radio tracking and seasonal surveys. Thanks are extended to Gene and Betty Sherman, Kay Priewert, Bud and Vi Olson and Al and Sally Haas for their hospitality. This project was conducted under a USDA Forest Service contract {53-0398-3LE--63) through Region 4 of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The project was also supported by Shell Western E and P, Inc., and ARCO Exploration Company. -12- INTRODUCTION Montana maintains one of the largest populations of mountain goats in North America. Over 9 5 percent of mountain goat habitat in the state occurs on lands administered by the U. S. Forest Gervice. Interest in the development of natural resources on National Forest land is intensifying, and with the development come associated increases in human activity. Mountain goat research in North America has demonstrated that this species is particularly vulnerable to activities of man. Locally, their populations have declined or disappeared in areas of Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, Alaska, British Columbia and Alberta due to mining (Brandborg 1955, Pendergast and Bindernagle 1975), logging and road access (Chadwick 1973, Joslin 1980, Phelps et al. 1975, Kerr 1965, McFetridge 1977, Merriam 1965, Ballard 1977, Alaska Department of Fish and Game 1975 and 1976 , Schoen and Kirchoff 1981) and recreation (L. Rice, pers, comm., South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks). The East Front of Montana's Rocky Mountains provides habitat for one of the largest contiguous populations of mountain goats in the state. This area has recently experienced a surge of oil and gas exploration activity, as well as impacts from other commodity extraction and recreational demands. The majority of activity has occurred along the East Front of the Sawtooth Range, an area rich in wildlife diversity and abundance. In an attempt to avoid or minimize negative impacts from energy exploration and other disturbance, state and federal agencies and private organizations felt it necessary to initiate intensive work along the East Front to gather information about wildlife population status, habitat use and response to human activities. During the past few years, research on the East Front has been initiated on mountain goats, grizzly and black bears, bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer and raptors . Mountain goats are native to the East Front. The first investigations of this population were conducted by the Montana Department of Fish and Game (MDFG) from 1946 to 1948^ (Casebeer et al. 1950) . Aside from occasional aerial surveys by the MDFG, no other study of this population was conducted until 1978, when a graduate thesis (Thompson 1980) was initiated to provide an update to the early 1950 's information. A brief follow-up to this endeavor was conducted by Tomasko (1980) . The study area and scope of study were expanded in 1981 to provide information for the entire East Front and to monitor the response of mountain goats to energy exploration. The goal of the East Front mountain goat investigation is to ensure the continued survival of a healthy, viable mountain goat population from the Sun River to Badger Creek while industry and recreation take place in the same country. The East Front Interagency Executive and Technical Committees were in part established to pursue this goal. -14- This project has been conducted under the auspices of the Rocky Mountain Front Interagency Executive Coimnittee with cooperative funding from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Lewis and Clark National Forest (USDA Forest Service contract no. 53-0398-3LE-63) . In order to develop the recommendations needed by both wildlife and land managers to minimize human disturbance to mountain goats and their habitat along the East Front, the objectives of the project are to: 1. delineate individual population segments of the East Front mountain goat population, 2. determine the population status, trend and distribution of each segment, 3. determine seasonal ranges including kidding-nursery , breeding and yearlong habitats and mineral lick sites, and 4. monitor population parameters and habitat use between segments and through time in order to detect changes in response to human activity. This report combines information from previous reports (Joslin 1981, 1982, 1983), data collected through winter 1983-84 and incorporates computer analysis of collective and individual home ranges and preferential habitat selection. It also summarizes and augments management guidelines which have been endorsed by the Interagency Executive Committee (1984) . STUDY AREA The Sawtooth Range of northcentral Montana extends from the Canadian border through Glacier National Park to the Dearborn River. The eastern portion of this range is known as the East Front since faults and thrusting of sedimentary rocks have created north-south mountain reefs which rise abruptly from the prairies and line up in parallel ranks back to the Continental Divide. The East Front mountain goat study area occupies approximately 12,432 square kilometers (480 square miles) in the center one-third of the Sawtooth Range. The study area was divided into three segments based on physiography and mountain goat distribution. The northern segment encompasses an area of approximately 432 square kilometers (170 square miles) drained by Birch, Badger and Two Medicine creeks. The center Teton-Dupuyer segment covers approximately 380 square kilometers (150 square miles) and is drained by the Teton River and Dupuyer Creek. The southern segment includes the 400 square kilometers (160 square miles) east of the North Fork of the Sun River, which is drained by the Sun River, Deep and Willow creeks. -15- Most of the study area occurs on land administered by the Lewis and Clark National Forest o Minor amounts occur on Bureau of Land Management, Blackfoot Indian Reservation, Flathead National Forest and private lands. The highest point on the study area is Rocky Mountain at 2863 meters (9392 feet) , which lies at the head of the South Fork Teton, The study area boundary, as outlined in the study area map, is defined roughly by the 1830 meter (6000 feet) level. Precipitation ranges from 38 cm (15 in) on the eastern prairie border to over 200 cm (80 in) in the alpine where 60 to 80 percent falls as snow. Weather data from east, north and south of the study area at Blackleaf, East Glacier and Gibson Dam reporting stations (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1983) are presented in Appendices 1 and 2. Vegetation structure of the East Front is complex „ Rough fescue (Festuca scabrella) /Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) grassland at the eastern edge of the study area merges with open stands of limber pine (Pinus flexilus) /shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) in the foothills. The limber pine grades into thicker stands of mixed Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga mensiezii) , limber pine, Englemann spruce (Picea engelmannii) , and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) at the base of the reefs and on the reef plateaus. As successive sets of cliff and plateau stair-step upward, the mixed conifer forest gives way to parkland composed of scattered limber and/or v/hitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis ) (depending on soil type) , spruce, sub-alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and Douglas fir. Above the parkland timber, subalpine fir and whitebark pine are relegated to dwarfed, stunted krummholz forms which ultimately are replaced on more severe sites by frost-churned rocky soil, termed "crust," which supports intermittent colonies of primarily mat-forming subshrubs and forbs. Short grass meadows and shrub stands compose the remaining vegetation structures occasionally found throughout the study area. Detailed descriptions of vegetation, habitat types and land types occurring on the study area are described in Harvey (1980) , Thompson (1980), Holdorf (1981) and Holdorf et. al. (1980). Much of the area falls within designated wilderness areas which were mapped using land type associations (USDA Forest Service 1976) rather than the more specific land types used on National Forest lands outside classified wilderness. Fifteen land type associations and 21 land types were noted on a subsample of the study area, but with regard to mountain goat use, land type association VI and land types 202 , 182 and 171 appear to be most commonly used. Land type association VI describe peaks and alpine ridges which are sparsely vegetated rockland, in a high precipitation zone, with low fuel accumulation and a long recovery time (Holdorf et al. 1980). Land type 202 is described as very steep (60 percent) limestone -16- rockland and scree on fault escarpments or glacial cirque headwalls. Active gravitational movement of loose rock and soil are common. On most areas active avalanche chutes are common. This land type normally supports open growing stands of Douglas fir, subalpine fir, spruce and whitebark pine on forested scree (Holdorf 1981) . Land type 182 is composed of a complex of rock outcrop and talus (75 percent) and stable soils (25 percent) on very steep (60 percent) slopes underlain by limestone. The stable soils are deep, well drained, calcareous soils forming in very gravelly colluvium. Vegetation is principally Douglas fir or limber pine forest on scree (Holdorf 1981) . Land type 171 is a complex of lodgepole pine forest (75 percent) and fescue grassland (25 percent) on steep (40-60 percent) glacially scoured slopes. This type is of minor extent on the Rocky Mountain Front (Holdorf 1981) METHODS Trapping and Marking A 12.2 X 18.3 m (40 x 60 ft) cannon net was used to capture mountain goats at the Blackleaf mineral lick. The site was monitored from July 10 to September 3, 1981, and from June 19 to July 15, 1982. Captured goats were marked with metal ear tags and plastic PVC pipe radio collars, elastic expandable radio collars or color coded canvas neckbands. Frequencies of radio collars ranged from 150.000 to 151.999 MH . The sex and age of each animal were determined. If circumstances permitted, measurements were taken on neck girth, body length, shoulder height, chest girth, rostrum length, beard length, ear length and horn lengths and circumferences. The horns of captured goats were usually capped with rubber hose to prevent injury to other goats and goat handlers. Animals were generally blindfolded, which appeared to reduce struggling. Ten to 20 minutes were required to process one individual (not including time to untangle goat from net) . Several animals "played dead" when released, which seems to be capture behavior common to mountain goats. Monitoring Radio marked goats were generally relocated from a Supercub twice per month using a Telonics TR-2 receiver/scanner and a rotating three element Yagi antenna mounted on the belly of the aircraft. Ground tracking was conducted only when an animal was suspected of being dead, using the Telonics receiver and a collapsible hand-held two element Yagi antenna. Helicopter surveys were conducted over portions of the East Front during July or August from 1979 to 1983, and winter surveys were conducted in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1984. Most surveys were done in a Bell 47 G3B helicopter. Mountain goats were classified as adults, two-year olds, yearlings, kids and males and females, if possible. Occasionally it was not possible to obtain specific -17- classifications, in which case adults, subadult, nonkid and unclassified categories were used. Date, drainage, location (UTM) , classification and environmental information for each observation or radio relocation were recorded and entered on a computerized observation form (Appendix 3 and 4) , Population Analysis Home range information including area, geographic activity center (GAC) , number of fixes and standard diameter for individual and collective home ranges v/ere calculated using the Telday program (Lonner and Burkhalter 1984) on the Montana State University (MSU) Honeywell computer. Associations between individuals were also calculated using Telday. Population centers were determined from survey information and radio relocation information where females, subadults and/or kids were consistently observed. Population trend information was based on annual surveys and comparisons to historical information. Population estimates v/ere based on a known marked sample of mountain goats occurring in the population and subsequently observing a percentage of that sample during surveys. Radio collars and neckbands on adult animals v;ere used for this purpose but elastic expandable collars fitted on kids, yearlings and 2-year olds could not be observed from the air . Habitat Analvsis Categories of environmental information collected for each radio relocation or observation are described in Appendix 4. Vegetation structure and land type were described previously under Study Area. Terrain types define the physiography of a site. The primary feature of the follov/ing four terrain types is rock: cliffs and cirque basins - rock faces several meters in height; bluffs - benches with rock drop-off s, often in step-like formation; talus - masses of shale or boulders; broken - areas which are not cliffs, bluffs or talus, but are difficult to traverse due to rocky ground. These types provided maximum security for goats from predators. If an area could not be defined by one of the rocky terrain types, then it was classified as one of the four remaining types including: ridge - the line of land separating two drainages; creekbottom - bottom of a drainage or line of land where opposing sidehills meet; park - a nontimbered flat or sloping area; sidehill - a catch-all term used to categorize any nonrocky area which would not fit any of the other terrain types. The percentage occurrence of various slopes (in percent) , slope exposures (aspect) , elevations, land types, burns (to the nearest decade) and grazing occurrence (cattle or sheep) v/as tested for a 646 square km subsample of the study area (52 percent) . This information was derived from 1463 random points distributed over -18- thesubsample and analyzed as part of the East Front grizzly bear project (Aune et al. 1984 and Marcurn and Loftsgaarden 1980). A base map of the East Front study area was digitized using the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Research Lab Discovery computer. Map information for the study area includes political boundaries, 89 drainages, 49 peaks, 18 roads and 36 trails open to some form of motorized transportation, 10 Forest Service cabins, and 9 lakes or reservoirs. Seasonal Habitat Use "^^^^ following describes the basis for development of mountain goat habitat maps which are the foundation of the management guidelines. The variables analyzed for frequency of occurrence m the environment were also summarized from each observation record or radio-relocation record to determine frequency of use Discriminant analysis using the SPSS (Nie et al. 1975) program was applied to several of these variables to determine which are actually influencing habitat selection by mountain goats. These results, based on 2237 mountain goat records (more than one goat observation may be involved in a record), were used to develop mountain goat habitat maps of the East Front, Occupied yearlong mountain goat habitat included both summer and winter seasons The winter period is considered to occur from October 15 to May 15. Also included in Occupied yearlong habitat are kiddmg-nursery and breeding areas which occur from Mav 1 to July 1j and from November 1 to December 31, respectively;' Suitable low occupancy habitat met all of the defined environmental criteria for Occupied habitat but mountain goat observations for these areas have not been recorded. Transitional habitat involves those areas through which mountain goats travel, generally during the periods October 15 to December 31 and May 1 to June 30. ^ Food Habits From March through September 1981, efforts were made to observe foraging mountain goats in order to locate five feeding sites per month, After_ hiking to specific sites, a feeding site exam was conducted, which consisted of laying out 15-2X5 decimeter frames at 2 meter intervals along the approximate course which the feeding goat followed, then recording the relative canopy coverage of all vegetation species occurring in the frames. Plants which could not be identified in the field were collected labeled, pressed and then identified at a later date All specimens were either verified or identified using Hitchcock and Cronquist (1973) by G. Moore and P. Lesica, botanists. University of Montana. Plants that appeared to have been fed upon at each site were noted. The more obvious species that occurred on the site but did not occur in the sample frames were also noted Frequency of occurrence and average cover of each species at each -19- site were calculated, then the five sites were combined for a monthly total of average frequency and cover. Five mountain goat pellet group samples were collected per month from March thro\igh September, and along with vegetation samples were sent to W. Kasworm for identification of vegetation in fecal samples using microhistological methods (Kasworm 1982), One and 23 mountain goats, respectively, captured at the Our Lake and Blackleaf mineral licks were fitted with radio collars. A brief history of all marked mountain goats is presented in Appendix 5. Body measurement of 11 captured goats are presented in Appendix 6. Figure 1 shows all relocations of 23 radio-marked mountain goats along the East Front while Figures 2 through 5 present all records of mountain goats from 1941 to 1984. The yearlong summer and winter collective home ranges for all male and female mountain goats captured at the Blackleaf mineral lick are shown in Figure 6. The collective home range size (Table 1) of both males and females was 300.8 square km. Collective summer ranges were larger than winter ranges and collective home ranges of males were larger than those of females. The males' summer and v/inter ranges were 50.2 percent and 47.7 percent larger than those of females', respectively. Males reduced their home range size during winter by 9.4 percent while females reduced theirs by only 4.7 percent. Table 1. Collective home range sizes of twenty-three radio-marked mountain goats which use the Teton-Dupuyer portion of the study area. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Population Dynamics Trapping and Marking Collective Home Ranges Home Range Group Composition (N) (square km) Summer - All years - 5/1 to 9/30 No of Fixes Standard Diameter (km) Females (12) 135.6 Males (11) 272.6 All Goats (23) 287.0 278 274 552 7.5 12.6 10.6 Winter - All years - 10/1 to 4/30 Females (12) 129.3 Males (11) 247.0 All Goats (23) 264.1 225 276 501 9.0 12.7 11.3 Yearlong - All years All Goats (23) 300.8 1053 11.0 -20- Comparing the summer range of each sex to the combined summer range of both sexes, males used 95 percent of the area x^hile females used only 47.1 percent. Therefore, 5 percent of the collective summer range was used by females exclusively while 52,9 percent v/as used by males exclusively. Comparing the winter range of each sex to the combined winter range of both sexes, males used 93.5 percent of the area while females used only 49 percent. Therefore, 6.5 percent of the collective winter ranae was used exclusively by females while 51 percent was used exclusively by males. The geographic activity centers (GAC) for all of the collective home ranges occurred between the South Fork of Dupuyer and Muddy Creek. The most northerly GAC was the males' summer range in Rival Creek, while the females' winter range was the most southerly in the head of Muddy Creek. As the standard diameter indicates, two-thirds of all relocations (1053) occurred within 11 km of the yearlong GAC (Table 1) . While the standard diameters of the male summer and winter home ranges were nearly the same, the females appeared to either move greater distances or distributed themselves farther apart in winter than in summer. Approximately 24 percent of the study area (1243 square km) was used by these 23 mountain goats. Individual Home Ranges Individual home range polygons and geographic activity centers for 24 radio-marked mountain goats are shown in Figures 7 through 23.^ Table 2 shows the yearlong home range size of each radio-marked mountain goat. Comparing animals for which at least one year of information was available, the largest home range was 178. 08 square km for an adult male while the smallest was 16.0 square km for an adult female. Only one male had a home range smaller than the average for females while all females were smaller than the average for males. Comparing individual home range sizes with the respective sexes collective summer home range size, females averaged 76.3 percent smaller and males averaged 70.6 percent smaller, possibly indicating more overlap in male home ranges. The average distance between GAC ' s indicates that females are more faithful to a given area than are males. Averaging the mean distance between GAC ' s of the 4 adult females having 3 or more GAC's the mean drops from 1.1. to 0.93, indicating that more information provides a better representation of home range fidelity. However, the adult male which had 5 GAC's had by far the largest mean distance between GAC's. In subadults also, the males tended to have larger home ranges than females. Two subadults had 2 GAC's each. The mean distance between GAC's for the subadult female was double the average for adult females while that of the subadult male was nearly 3 times -21- the average for adult males. This tends to substantiate the fact that, as for other species, subadialt mountain goats are prone to wandering . Table 2. Home range information for twenty-four radio marked mountain goats. Adult Females X Di<5f A U X t> L ti Iw/ ^ W 1^ ^ JL L Area not* Ti7£i O X\ TD No. # Fixes Fixes (km) fSq km) GAGS GACS Ckm'^ 1172 102 2.72 44. 29 4 0 49 0529 66 2.75 34. 9 3 0.56 0829 52 2.57 38.97 3 1 . 94 2220 55 1.89 47.38 3 0.73 2302 47 1.77 24.08 2 0. 87 2402 ■ 47 1 .81 27.49 2 0.72 2902 46 2.58 16.00 2 2. 19 8141 32 3.09 24.39 1 4922* 8 2.71 13.72 1 Average 56 2.40 32. 19 1 1 i. • i 93 r4") Adult Males 7239 58 5.75 53. 48 2 114 1859 114 5.26 178 08 2692 50 1 . 75 22 . 68 9 w • oo 1802 47 3.33 62.58 2 1 69 6982 47 4.74 134.07 2 2.06 8612 47 4.96 53.67 2 0.15 3402 47 4.78 81.62 2 1.58 7082 44 3.21 84.43 2 0.63 7881 24 4.73 50.75 2 3.8 Average 53 4.28 80.15 1.8 Subadults 0131 M^' 45 3.34 39.23 2 5.3 5902 M 26 2.95 30.67 1 4301* F 46 2.49 37.67 2 2.01 9121* F 9 2. 17 10.34 1 5261 F 10 4.6 21.56 1 5302 F 38 1.93 13.51 1 Average 39 2.68 30.27 * ,Not included in average - Denotes male (M) or female (F) -22- ASSOCIATIONS The association of any 2 mountain goats was determined by measuring the distances between 2 individuals on a given day and averaging all distances. This provided an index of association which could be compared with any other group of 2 mountain goats. Twenty-three mountain goats captured from the Blackleaf lick site provide 253 theoretical association possibilities. Some transmitters or animals died before other transmitters were put in the field, and only those associations in which a minimum of 4 or more fixes occurred were used, so comparing two goats at a time a total of 204 combinations were possible. The greatest mean distance between 2 goats was 14.5 km and involved a 1-2 year old male and an adult female. The closest mean distance between 2 goats was 0 km (observed together) and involved a 4-5 year old male and a 2-3 year old female. Table 3 shows the breakdown of the 204 association possibilities. Most female to female (adult) associations were in the range of 2 to 6 km (75 percent) . None occurred at closer than 2 km. or over 10 km. The majority of adult males (70 percent) spaced themselves at average distances of greater than 6 km while 30 percent occurred between 2 and 6 km, but none v/as closer than 2 km. Adult male to adult female spacing was generally between 4 and 10 km (74 percent) but 15 percent occurred between 0 and 4 km while 11 percent occurred at over 10 km. While 71 percent of the juvenile to other goat associations were between 2 and 8 km, 89 percent of all associations in the 0 to 2 km category involved juvenile goats. Table 3. Association results in percent: distance between any two mountain goats 0-2 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 OVER N=204 pairs-'' 9 38 57 51 33 16 F-F-^(20)-^ 50 25 20 5 M-F(53) 2 13 25 30 19 11 M-M(30) 7 23 33 27 10 Juv-Other(lOl) 8 19 31 21 14 7 ^^Mean distance between mountain goats in 2 km increments - Twenty-three marked mountain goats consisting of 7 adult females (30%), 9 adult males (39%), and 7 juveniles (2 years or less) (30%), 2^totalling 204 pairs. - Pair categories: F-F = female to female, M-F = male to female, M-M = male to male, Juv-Other = Juvenile (kid, yearling or 2 year old) ^tjo any other goat - Number of pairs of mountain goats occurring in this category Between certain individuals or groups there does appear to be some association but it is difficult to tell what constitutes an association by choice or one of home range proximity. Those between an adult and a juvenile can be presumed to be one of need on the part of the juvenile, but the reasons behind associations between adults are not as clear. The rank of association from most to least closely associated, in general appears to be: females to females, juveniles to other goats, males to females, and males to males. Population Centers Eight known and two potential mountain goat population centers exist along the East Front. A population center is based on observations of f emale-subadult groups and radio relocations. Two, five and one population centers occur in the Birch-Badger, Teton-Dupuyer and Deep-Sun areas, respectively. The two population centers in the Birch-Badger area include: 1. Goat Mountain, Running Owl Mountain and Bullshoe Mountain; 2. the peaks separating Birch from Badger Creeks including Family Peak, Mount Poia, Scarf ace Mountain, Morningstar Mountain, Spotted Eagle Mountain and Curly Bear Mountain. ?\ potential population center exists in the Mount Baldy, Kiyo Crag, Half Dome Crag vicinity since goats have been harvested there. The five population centers in the Teton-Dupuyer area include: 1. Middle and South Forks of Birch Creek including Bum Shot Mountain, Crooked Mountain, Mount Drev/yer, Mount Sentinel, Mount Richmond and Mount Field; 2. Mount Wright along Corrugate Ridge to Patrick Gass and east to the North Fork of the Teton; 3. the reefs along the eastern edge of the Front from Walling Reef to Choteau Mountain and west to the North Fork of the Teton; 4. Mount Lockhardt, Teton Peak, Nesbit Creek area; 5. Old Baldy, Rocky Mountain area. The latter two population centers may actually be one but additional information is necessary in the Teton Peak area to make that determination. The one population center in the Deep-Sun area involves Ear Mountain, North Fork Deep Creek and No Business Creek. The Castle Reef-Arsenic Mountain area is known to have supported mountain goats in the past at the heads of the creeks and along the ridges running north from the Sun River. This area should be considered a potential population center. Population Trends Although information has been collected on the East Front mountain goat population since 1978, the helicopter surveys conducted in July 1979 and August 1980 can not be compared to the surveys done after 1980, since the same areas were not covered, classification schemes differed, and observers changed. Birch Creek-Badger Creek Area Four intensive helicopter surveys and three spot checks of this area were made from 1979 through 1984. The March 1981, July 1982 -24- and July. 19 83 surveys (Appendix 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15) were most similar in that 70, 78 and 80 mountain goats were observed, respectively. Kid: adult ratios were 0.35 in March 1981, 0.43 in July 1982 and 0.45 in July 1983 ; while, subadult: adult ratios were 0.16, 0.16 and 0.36, respectively. During other surveys the following numbers of goats were observed: 3 in July 1979,^ 2 in March 1980, 42 in July 1981 (Appendix 8 and 13), 14 in April 1982 (appendix 9 and 14) . Inconsistency in weather, flight paths, observers and funding are responsible for variability in these results. Teton River-Dupuyer Creek Area Nine intensive helicopter surveys (Appendix 7, 8, 10-16) and one spot check of this area have been made during the course of this study (Table 4) . Twenty-three goats were observed during the April 1982 spot check (Appendix 9 and 14). Kid:adult ratios were quite similar during the July 1981 and 198? surveys. Kid:adult ratios were 0.29, 0.23 and 0.12, respectively, while subadult: adult ratios were 0.27, 0.29 and 0.19, respectively. Detailed classification information was not collected during previous surveys, therefore, kid:nonkid ratios only are available. Early distribution records for this area indicate that goats were observed in areas which are not often used now. Corrugate Ridge, Washboard Reef and Teton Peak are a few such areas. In addition, several goats were observed on Mount Wright where only an occasional recent observation has been recorded. Sun River-Deep Creek Area Four intensive helicopter surveys and three spot checks of this area have been conducted over the course of the study. Intensive surveys covered all drainages and most of the topographic relief within each drainage. During these surveys, 29 mountain goats were observed in March 1981 (Appendix 7 and 13), 2 in July 1981, (Appendix 8 and 13) , 35 in July 1982 (Appendix 10 and 14) and 2 0 in July 1983 (Appendix 11 and 15). During spot checks, 7 mountain goats were observed in July 1979, 0 in March 1980 and 11 in April 1982 (Appendix 9 and 14). March 1981 kid:adult and subadult : adult ratios were 0.25 and 0.1, respectively. July 1982 ratios were 0.24 and 0.43, respectively. July 1983 ratios v/ere 0.15 and 0.38, respectively. The inconsistency in flight results, aside from the factors previously mentioned, may be a function of the narrow canyons in Deep Creek which are difficult to access. Although consistent yearly surveys necessary to determine population trends have not been conducted the relative population level, compared to the 1940 's and 1950 's, is down. Data are inadequate to indicate the current population trend in this area. Past records report 115 mountain goats were observed in the Deep Creek and South Fork Teton vicinity (Goers and Table 4. Nine mountain goat helicopter surveys conducted from the North Fork Dupuyer to South Fork Teton portion of the East Front during winter and summer, 1979 to 1984. Range Estimated Survey Kid: Subad : Kid: Male: # Marked Min # Marked Max # Marked % of Pop Date Total Adult Adult Non kid Female Goats DBS Goats in Field Goats in Field Observed 3/79 49 7/79 66 .29 3/80 53 .18 8/80 73 .43 3/81 86 .36 .20 .30 7/81 89 .30 .28 .23 7/82 79 .23 .29 .23 • .52 10 12 17 59-83 7/83 75 .12 . 19 .10 .41 7 16 22 32-44 4/84 60 .13 .20 .11 .48 8 13 21 38-61 I o\ I Brandborg 1955) and, on a single occasion in 1941, 31 mountain goats were seen at the Deep Creek lick site (Cooney 1942) . Mountain goat distribution also appears to have become more restricted in this area in recent years. Past records indicate that goats have been observed or killed in the following locations: Grouse Creek, Bridge Creek, Arsenic Mountain, Big George Gulch, Mortimer Gulch and Hannon Gulch. These areas have all been surveyed during this study, but mountain goats have not been observed. Population Estimates Population estimates can be accurately made only if an adequate segment of the population is marked and can subsequently be observed in the population (Rice and Harder 1977) . If those animals which have been marked develop avoidance reactions to aircraft, then the marked segment is no longer functional in providing population estimates. This type of avoidance behavior may be occurring in the marked segment of the population. No marked mountain goats occurred in the Birch-Badger or Deep-Sun portions of the study area. Sixteen of 17 raarked goats were known to be present in the Teton-Dupuyer area during the July 198 3 survey. Seven of these were observed during the survey, resulting in an apparent efficiency of 44 percent. However , of the 16 marked animals present, 8 were females and 8 were males, but 6 females (75 percent) were observed while only 1 male (12.5 percent) was observed. It might be speculated that the males are merely more difficult to see since they are often solitary at this time of year and that they may be using more heavily vegetated habitat types. While both of these assumptions appear to be true for males, the observation data does not bear out the hypothesis that only 12 percent of the males were observed. Of the three areas surveyed, the Teton-Dupuyer area appeared to have the highest malerfemale ratio (41:100). If the observability percentages between males (12,5) and females (75) are applied to the number of animals actually observed, the male: female ratio would be 218 males per 100 females. This v/as probably not the case. The winter 1984 survey also supported the conclusion that males are less observable than females and that marked males are probably less likely to be seen than unmarked males. During this survey, of the 8 marked mountain goats observed 4 were females and 4 were males but 5 marked females and 8 marked males were known to be in the field, so the interpretation is that 80 percent of the females and 5 0 percent of the males v/ere observed. The observed male: female ratio v/as 48:100 but interpretation of the marked sample suggests a ratio of 77:100. Again it appears that the marked males were more adept at avoiding observation. This bias limits application of a Lincoln-Peterson Index (Rice and Harder 1977) . If an observation index is applied, minimum population estimates range from 95 to 170 mountain goats in the Teton-Dupuyer area -27- while maximum estimates range from 133 to 234. The high minimum and maximum both occurred during the July 1983 survey. Weather is known to influence observability of mountain goats (Fox 1983) , and it is thought that the July 1983 survey may have been affected by the late timing of the survey and weather. During the second half of the survey the weather became hot and sultry. The area covered during this hot period involved the marked sample. At least partly in response to weather conditions, several goats (primarily males) moved into heavy timber and creekbottoms . This was confirmed by a radio-relocation flight conducted between survey flights. If the estimates from the July 1983 flight are deleted, the population estimate for the Teton-Dupuyer area occurs in the range of 95 to 157 mountain goats. If marked goats are indeed less observable than unmarked mountain goats, then population estimates should be considered liberal. Mortality Six collared mountain goats including 4 radio-marked and 2 neckbanded animals are known to have died over the course of the study. A 3 year old male and a 3 year old female were taken during the hunting season. A yearling male and 6+ year old female apparently were killed in avalanches. A 10 year old male and 5 year old female either died of natural causes or were illegally shot. The collar, hair and bone fragments of a 10 year old male were found near the Cave Mountain campground. The collar and carcass of a 5 year old female were located within 200 meters of a well used trail which crosses the Blackleaf lick. The proximity of both carcasses to areas heavily used by people supports the possibility of poaching. At least 5 kids of radio-marked females died during the course of the study, including 2 in 1980, 1 in 1981 and 2 in 1982. In 1983 all 4 radio-marked females were of kid bearing age, but only one managed to raise a kid until the winter of 1984 when the mother was killed in an avalanche. The fate of her kid is not known. It was not determined whether the other females bore kids which died shortly after birth, but none of them were observed in the company of a kid up to May 1984. Survival of yearlings may be almost as poor as that of kids (Chadwick 1983) . Since yearlings and 2 year olds are grouped as subadults, it is difficult to trace the mortality in a given cohort. If the decrease from the kid: adult ratio to the next years subadult : adult ratio is doubled to allow for grouping of subadult age classes, the kid losses over the past 3 years is generally less than 10 percent, which is low for mountain goats. Kid m.ortality has been estimated from 15 to 80 percent (Hibbs 19 66, Holroyd 1967, Rideout 1978, Stevens and Driver 1978). Yearling mortality estimates range from 2 to 59 percent (Holroyd -28- 1967, Rideout 1974, Chadwick 1977), Adams and Bailey (1982) used 6 percent mortality in adults to simulate population growth. Population dynamics analysis for segments o'^f the East Front mountain goat population will be addressed in the future using the POSIM program (Mooney and Lonner 1978) . The 1983 kid: adult and subadult : adult ratios for the Teton-Dupuyer area were lower than they had been in recent years. These ratios for the Teton-Dupuyer area were slightly lower than the Deep-Sun area ratios and they were distinctlv lower than the Birch-Radger area ratios. It is possible that the viral-pneumonia disease (Pasturella hemolytica) v/hich plagued the bighorn sheep may have been a factor in low ratios in this area since the timing of the disease was synonymous with the drop in ratios. A dead mountain goat was found in the South Fork of the Teton area (T. Bivins, pers. comm.) and had been suffering from pneumonia, although not Pasturella. Habitat Use Seasonal Habitat Selection Analysis of seasonal habitat selection was based on a total of 2239 mountain goat observation records. Complete environments] information for each record could not always be obtained. Land types, terrain types and vegetation types were more frequently determined for each record than aspect, elevation and slope since the latter require precise locations, while the former cover general areas. In order to obtain an indication of mountain goat preference of various environmental features, availability of each must be determined. A frequency analysis of 5 environmental variables was determined on 1463 random points distributed over a sample portion of the study area (Table 5). Similar frequencv analysis were completed on 153, 266 and 2237 records of mountain goat observations during the kidding-nurserv period (Table 6) breeding period (Table 7) and the combined summer and winter periods (yearlong habitat) (Table 8), respectively. The five variables included slope, elevation, aspect, distance to nearest driveable road and land type. Discriminant analysis was performed on the first four variables to determine which are important to mountain goats in selecting seasonal and yearlong habitat. For all three tests (kidding-nursery, breeding and yearlong) the most important variable was slope followed by elevation. The third most important variable in selection of kidding-nursery and yearlong habitat was distance to the nearest driveable road, while aspect was the third variable in selection of breeding habitat. Slopes greater than 7 0 percent account for less than 20 percent of the available habitat (Table 5), but more than 75 percent 'of the mountain goat observations during all 3 seasonal periods -29- Table 5. Frequency distribution of habitat parameters existing within a portion of the East Front mountain goat study area, based on 1463 random points Elevation - % 5000-5500 3.1 5500-6000 12.4 6000-6500 26.9 6500-7000 23.5 7000-7500 22.4 7500-8000 9.1 8000-8500 2. 1 8500-9000 0.5 Slope - % 90± % 3 .3 70-89 15.4 30-69 66 .2 10-29 12 .0 0-9 3 .0 Land Type Aspect - % Code % Code % Code % N 10.8 12 .4 72 . 1 III 1.9 NE 13.1 13A .2 160 .2 Ilia .4 E 15.7 14D 1.3 161 .9 IV .1 SE 13.7 18 3.2 171 .9 Va 1.1 S 8.0 20 .2 181 1.7 Vb 2.1 sw 13.9 21A 1.4 182 7.2 Vc 2.8 w 16.1 22 1.6 183 .3 Vd 1.7 m 8.8 23A .4 200 1.1 Ve 29.4 25 4.8 202 12.6 VI .1 25B . 1 I . 2 VII 4.7 Distance to Road - % 25C 1.2 lb .6 Vila .8 Less than h mile 5.8 71 6.9 II .6 VIII 6.7 *S - % mile 6. 1 h - 1 mile 10.6 Over 1 mile 77.5 Table 6. Frequency distribution of habitat parameters on the East Front used by mountain goats during the kidding-nursery period, based on 153 observation points. Elevation - % Aspect - % Land Code Type % 6000-6500 11.0 N 8.7 71 1.4 6500-7000 14.0 NE 5.8 161 .7 7000-7500 44.1 E 43.5 171 12.8 7500-8000 27.9 ■ SE 10.1 182 .7 8000-8500 2.9 S 10.1 202 64.5 SW 3.6 VI 19.9 w 7.2 N¥ 5.8 Flat 5.1 slope % Distance to Road % ± 90 7. 26.3 Less than % mile 4.3 70-89 58.4 h - h mile 30-69 9.5 h - I mile 2.6 10-29 3.6 Over 1 mile 93.1 0-9 2.2 -30- Table 7. Frequency distribution of habitat parameters on the East Front used by mountain goats during the breeding period, based on 266 observation points. Elevation - % 5500-6000 6000-6500 6500-7000 7000-7500 7500-8000 8000-8500 8500-9000 5 11 42 32 .9 , 1 ,2 ,3 ,6 7.0 .9 Aspect - % Land Type N NE E SE s ■ sw w . NW Flat 7.2 13.9 32.5 19.1 7.7 5.7 5.7 7.2 1.0 Code % 30 .4 71 .8 171 1.6 181 .4 182 13.3 202 64.3 VI 19.2 Slope - % Distance to Road - % ± 90 % 39.9 Less than % mile .7 70-89 38.4 h - h mile 2.2 30-69 20.7 h - I mile 2.2 10-29 1.0 Over 1 mile 94.8 0-9 Table 8. Frequency distribution of habitat parameters on the East Front used by mountain goats yearlong, based on 2237 observation points. Elevation % Land Type 4000-5000 5000-5500 5500-6000 6000-6500 6500-7000 7000-7500 7500-8000 8000-8500 8500-9000 9000-9500 .1 .2 .8 9.3 14.9 35.3 30.1 8.0 1,2 Slope - ? f ± 90 % 31. 2 70-89 44. 6 30-69 19. 9 10-29 1. 4 0-9 2. 9 h ~ h mile h - I mile Over 1 mile Aspect - % Code % N 9.4 18 1.0 NE 14.4 23 .01 E 31.0 25 .1 SE 13.7 25A .01 S 9.7 30 .01 SW 7.7 61 .01 W 6.7 63B .1 NW 4.6 66 .01 Flat 2.9 71 .6 161 .1 171 5.0 181 .4 182 6.0 Road - % 183 .4 mile 2.2 200 .01 1.1 201 .01 3.4 202 57.1 93.4 203 .01 Va .01 Vd .01 VI 27.8 VII .8 -31- (Tables 6, 7 and 8) occurred on slopes of 70 percent or greated. Elevations over 2134 meters (7000 feet) account for less than 35 percent of the available habitat but 75, 83 and 75 percent of the kidding-nursery , breeding and yearlong mountain goat observation records, respectively, occurred at elevations of 2134 m and above. Aspects between northeast and southeast account for about 42 percent of the available habitat but 59, 65 and 59 percent of the kidding-nursery, breeding and yearlong mountain goat observation records, respectively. About 77 percent of the sampled area occurred at distances of over 1.6 km (1 mile) from a road V7hile at least 93 percent of the mountain goat observations during all 3 seasonal periods occurred at distances of over 1.6 km. Seasonal Distribution Over 2200 observation records of mountain goats were used to develop seasonal range use maps (Figures 24 through 44) . The study area boundary, outlined on the distribution maps, describes the area which is annually surveyed. Within this area, all country above 1829 m (6000 ft) occurring on slopes of 70 percent or greater are classified as occupied (number 1 on maps) or suitable (number 2 on maps) use areas based on habitat selection data described previously. There is little definable difference between summer and winter habitat selection, so these seasons v/ere combined. Known kidding-nursery areas are identified with a dotted line in Figures 24 through 44. Kidding-nursery areas are noted on the map if a solitary female V7as observed during May or June or if a group of goats which contained a kid was observed during June, July or August. Known breeding areas are identified with a dashed line in Figures 24 through 44. All observations of adult (2h years of age and older) males and females during November and Deceiuber were used to delineate breeding areas. Summer and Winter Areas Summer and winter habitat is essentially the same, so it is called yearlong habitat. Yearlong habitat occurs at elevations ranging from less than 1524 ra (5000 ft) to over 2743 m (9000 ft) and on all aspects and slopes within the study area. Generally mountain goats are observed betvzeen 1829 m and 2590 m (6000-8500 ft), on north, east and south exposures, on slopes greater than 30 percent and on land types 202, IV, 182 and 171. In summer mountain goats can be seen on all vegetation and terrain types, but in winter they tend to occur on crust, forest and parkland vegetation types and cliff, talus and ridge terrain types. Kidding-Nurser}/ Areas, Kidding-nursery areas occur on all aspects and slopes and most elevations within the study area. Generally, they occur on east to southeast exposures on slopes of 70 percent or greater; between 1829-2438 m (6000-8000 ft) elevation; on land types 202, VI, 171 and 182; in all terrain types and on the crust, forest, parkland, short grass and brush vegetation types. -32- Breeding Areas Breeding areas occur on all aspects and elevations within the Study area but tend to occur on eastern exposures; on slopes of 70 percent and greater; at elevations of 2134-2438 m (7000-8000 ft); on land types, 202, VI, and 182; on cliff and bluff terrain types; and crust, forest, parkland and krumraholz vegetation types. Mineral Licks Fifteen mineral licks are known to occur within the study area (Figures 31, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42 and 44). The Curly Bear, Walling Reef, Old Man of the Hills, Nesbit Creek and Headquarters Pass licks may be natural mineral licks, but the other 10 are artificially established sites. The Blackleaf, South Fork Dupuyer, Walling Reef, Old Man of the Hills, Nesbit Creek, Our Lake, Headquarters Pass, North Fork Deep Creek and Frenchv Gulch sites are regularly used by goats. The South Fork Deep Creek lick is occasionally used. The degree of use of the Curly Bear, Blindhorse, Walling-Split Mountain, Chute Mountain and Erosion Gulch licks receive is not known. Mountain goats will use salt during all months of the year (DeBock 1970). Males tend to use licks during May, June ' and early July. Females generally do not begin using licks until after the kids are born in June, but they continue to use them into September. In using licks, most ungulates are seeking sodium bicarbonate (Stockstad 1953 and Smith 1954) . Hebert and Cowan (1971) indicate that there is a sodium imbalance in the diet of mountain goats during spring since the diet has shifted from dry winter forage to lush green forage which tends to flush the system of essential nutrients. The mountain goats' desire for salt is strong and will lead them into unsafe surroundings out of normal mountain goat habitat, away from escape terrain. These circumstances will develop if artificial lick sites are established near the fringes of mountain goat habitat. Rideout (1974) hypothesizes that mountain goats V7ill risk predation to satisfy their drive and need for salt. Singer (1978) documented numerous mountain goat vehicle incidents in Glacier Park along Highway 2 where aoats were trying to cross the highway to use a salt lick. Food Habits and Feeding Site Analysis Preliminary food habits information was collected from 34 feeding sites in the Teton-Dupuyer area from March through September 1981 (Appendix 17). Frequency of occurrence and average cover of nine general ground cover categories and all plant species are summarized for each month and presented in Appendix 18 and 19 -33- respectively. A total of 5 genera of species of trees, 21 species of shrubs, 176 species of forbs and 30 species of grasses and grass-like plants viere recorded on all feeding sites. The months having the highest average cover of shrubs, grass and forbs _ were April, June and September, respectively. March had the highest average cover of rock and snow. Plant frequency was closely correlated with average cover during June, July, August and September. Forbs, grass and shrubs ranked first, second and third in both frequency of occurrence and average cover during these months. During March, April and May, the category which ranked first in frequency did not rank first in average cover. This may have been a function of classifying some plants, particularly penstem.ons, as forbs rather than shrubs. Appendix 2 0 lists 7 8 genera or species which were noted to have been grazed upon at sampled mountain goat feeding sites. Mountain goats may not have fed upon all the species noted, since mule deer and bighorn sheep were also occasionally observed feeding in the same areas as mountain goats. In order to quantify diet preferences of mountain goats, it is necessary to determine plant species availability in comparison to actua]. use. Although the feeding site data presented in Appendix _ 19 is a step in that direction, the data were insufficient to quantify individual plant species availability throughout seasonal mountain goat habitat. Comparison of grass, forbs and shrubs (Table 9) reveal that these broad forage classes tend to occur in the same relative order in fecal samples (Table 10) and on feeding sites (Appendix 18) , For five of the seven months in which samples were collected and exams were conducted, the first and third categories coincided, indicating a correlation between availability and forage selection. The conclusion from this would be that goats feed on whatever is available, but this may not be true, since those sites selected by goats for feeding may not be typical of the environment as a whole. If mountain goats do selectively feed, then the discrimination occurs when they select the site on which to feed, rather than choosing between available forage classes at a particular location. More detailed comparisons show that 41 of the 46 items (89 percent) which occurred in the fecal samples also appeared on feeding sites (Appendix 19 and 21) while 41 of the 121 genera which were known to occur on feeding sites also occurred in fecal samples. Seventy-five species, involving 52 genera, were noted to have been fed upon at feeding sites; of these, 21 or 40 percent were noted in fecal samples. Over the seven month sample period, an average of 81 percent (63-89 percent) of the top ten genera which occurred in fecal samples (Appendix 22) occurred at feeding sites. Again, this -34- Table 9. Ranking of relative abundance of grass, forbs and shrubs on monthly mountain goat feeding sites as compared to relative abundance of grass, forbs and shrubs in monthly mountain goat fecal samples. March April May June July August Sept Grass . 3/1 ^/ 2/2 2/2 2/1 2/2 3/2 ' • 2/2 Forbs 2/3 3/3 3/3 1/2 1/1 1/1 1/1 Shrubs 1/2 1/1 1/1 3/3 3/3 2/3 3/3 1/ Feeding sites/fecal samples. Five feeding sites and five fecal groups were sampled and averaged each month. Table 10. Percentage of grass, forbs and shrubs in the diet of mountain goats from March through September 1981, as determined by microhistological analysis of fecal samples. Grass Forbs Shrubs March 39.2 22.2 38.6 April 41.0 15.4 44.0 May 40.4 12.4 47.2 June 59.2 24.4 16.0 July 25.0 55.8 19.4 Aug 34.8 54.4 11.0 Sept 35.2 39.0 25.6 -35- would indicate that goats are feeding upon species which are available. However, if the most corranon species at feeding sites are compared with the most abundant species in fecal samples, the correlation is less than 50 percent, suggesting selection for some species at certain times. Although feeding site exams provide detailed descriptions of areas where mountain goats were observed to feed, collection of pellet groups is a more efficient and less biased method of assessing food habits since they represent all habitats and all time periods in which goats fed. The bioenergetics of other species of ungulates reveal that in order to conserve energy in winter, involuntary weight loss occurs regardless of the quantity of food available. Mountain goats too, have been noted to lose weight during winter (Casebeer et al. 1950) . This appears to be an adaptation for winter survival in that less food is required to maintain a smaller body mass. In addition, ungulates also adjust their behavior in winter to minimize energy expenditure in daily activities. Mackie et al, (1980) explains that the basal metabolic rate of deer drops along with body mass and, that it is actually a combination of the animal's physiological condition upon entering winter and numerous environmental conditions (beyond simple winter forage condition) which determine winter survival. Thus, a given herd's survival strategy is determined by a specific combination of energy conservation measures and the particular habitat in which it lives. The objective in collecting food habits information has evolved from analysis of winter range condition as an index of habitat carrying capacity to research of the physiology of an animal in concert v/ith its particular habitat or survival strategy. Human Activities Timber Management, Livestock Grazing, Fire History, Roads and Trails National Forest lands support a variety of uses, many of which occur on the East Front. The type and extent of past timber harvest in mountain goat habitat on the study area has yet to be addressed. A frequency analysis was run on a subsample (about 52 percent) of the study area to determine the proportion of the area receiving livestock grazing. About 20 and 10 percent of the sample area sustained cattle and sheep grazing, respectively. The same sample area was tested for fire occurrence on a 10 year basis. Approximately 79 percent of the sample area has not heen burned within the past 100 years. Twelve percent had been burned prior to 1910, while 8.5 percent of the sample area has burned since that time. Eighteen roads and 3 6 trails which receive some type of motorized use during at least a portion of the year exist within the study area. Figure 45 illustrates their distribution. -36- Oil and Gas Exploration Oil and gas exploration and development have recently become a major land use activity on the East Front. The Proposed Levels and Clark National Forest Plan (1982) states that, "development for natural gas and other minerals is likely to occur on the Forest . . . wildlife and semi-primitive recreation settings will be impacted the most." In order to assess the current and future response of mountain goats to this activity, a base of information is being gathered concerning the intensity, extent and duration of oil and gas exploration and development along the East Front. Exploration activities employ a number of methods including surface charges, portable drilling, deep shot holes, vibroseis and magneto-tellurics - each of which requires a series of support activities implemented by individual crews. Energy exploration information is available from Forest Service records (Rocky Mountain Ranger District) for 1981, 1982, and 1983. Five companies involved in exploration during 1981 began work in mid July and continued beyond October. Within mountain goat range, over 115 miles of seismic lines were permitted and most of these were tested. Several important mountain goat use areas v/ere crossed within the follov/ing drainages: North Fork Badger, Lonesome, Limestone, North Fork Birch, Steep, Small, North and South Forks Dupiiyer, Sheep, Blackleaf, Muddy, Blindhorse, Chicken Coulee, Claree Coulee, Jones, Massey, North Fork Teton, Middle Fork Teton, South Fork Teton, North Fork Deep, Sheep, Slim, Billie, South Fork Deep, No Business, Sun River, Hannon, Blacktail and Big George. During 1982, 8 companies involved in seismic exploration activities tested about 17 of 28 permitted miles of lines from raid June through October within mountain goat range. Mountain goat use areas within the following drainages were involved: North Fork Badger, Scoff in Creek, North Fork Teton, North Fork Deep, Sheep, Slim, Billie, Sun River. In 1983, 4 companies involved in seismic exploration tested 188 miles of line within moxmtain goat habitat from June through October. Mountain goat use areas within the following drainages were involved: South Fork Two Medicine, North Fork Badger, Kip, Lee, South Fork Badger, Lonesome, Limestone, Lookout, North Fork Birch, North and South Fork Dupuyer, Washout, Blackleaf, Cow, Muddy, Blindhorse, Jones, Massey, North, Middle and South Forks of the Teton, South Fork Wiliov;, Slim, Sheep, Green Timber, Hannon, Blacktail, Mortimer, Big George and Arsenic. As far as actual response to seismic lines, it was found that V7hen a line was set up in the Blackleaf canyon, four radio marked goats in that drainage moved into adjacent drainages even before the blasting occurred. Similarly on Walling Reef (T. Andryk, pers. comm.), four adult goats, as well as a band of sheep, all left the area of a seismic test within 24 hours after the blasting. Immediate responses to actual blasting range from no apparent change in activity to leaping out of their beds and running in confusion. Considering the regular occurrence of -37- electrical storins , avalanches and falling boulders in mountain goat terrain, the presence of people is probably more disturbing than seismic blasts. All phases of seismic activity must abide by restrictions in seasonally sensitive areas in order for the management guidelines to be effective. Ultimately we must gain an understanding of how reproductive performance, habitat use and population stability are affected by energy activity. The apparent nonchalant attitude of mountain goats is a crucial feature of their adaptive strategy since they cannot afford to panic in dangerously steep terrain. Physiological changes typical of stress no doubt occur in mountain goats as they do in other species of ungulates when something out of the ordinary occurs. These changes generally include increased hormone levels (Thompson 1957, Denenberg and Rosenberg 1967), raised heart rates (MacArthur et al. 1979) and respiration, as well as increased metabolic levels (Webster and Blaxter 1966 and Blaxter 1962 in Geist 1978) . The consequences of chronic stress are insidious and difficult to document. They may show up as reduced feeding time (Kiley 1974) , yet when under stress there is an increased need even for basal metabolic rates (Geist 1978) , plus the additional needs of the active inhibition period. In addition, there may be increased fetal abortion and resorption (Geist 1971) , reduced reproduction (Reid and Miles 1962 in Geist 1978) , avoidance of certain areas resulting in loss of access to resources and, ultimately, reduced population (Batcheler 1968 in Geist 1978) . To avoid or minimize possible adverse consequences of energy exploration activities upon mountain goats, strict adherence to the management guidelines is necessary. These guidelines are based on knowledge of mountain goat movement patterns, home range sizes, mortality causes and behavioral traits. Since mountain goats are extremely methodical in the use of their range and are reluctant to move or change their habits, exposure to human activities are likely to be manifest internally where the field biologist cannot document the effects of that exposure except through monitoring of population dynamics. Hunting Mountain goat hunting seasons in Montana date back to 1872 when the territorial legislature banned hunting from February 1 to August 15 of each year. In 1895 the legislature created a Board of Game Commissioners who established an annual mountain goat bag limit of eight. The hunting season at that time was from September 15 to December 31. The bag limit was reduced to one goat in 1905. By 1935 a statewide closure on mountain goat hunting was in effect. Not until 1955 was a season on mountain goats along the Rocky Mountain Front reestablished, but this time it was under a permit system (Table 11) . -38- Table 11. Mountain goat harvest on the East Front, 1955-1983. Year 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Hunting District 313^ 314" 314 414 414, 414'^ 414 414 414 414 414 414 414 414 414 414. 414^ 415^ 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 414 415 No. Permits 5 5 20 20 40 40 60 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 100 100 75 50 50 50 25 50 10 25 10 Season Dates Harvest Male Female 5 5 10 5 10 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 10/ 7- 9/15- 10/]8- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- 9/15- -11/15 -11/15 -11/15 -11/24 -11/30 -11/22 ■11/20 ■11/19 •11/25 •11/24 ■11/22 ■11/22 ■11/27 ■11/26 12/15 12/14 11/29 12/14 11/28 11/28 11/26 11/26 11/25 11/25 Total No season No season No season No season 9/15-11/24 9/15-11/23 9/15-11/28 9/15-11/27 9/15-11/26 9/15-11/26 9/15-11/25 9/15-11/25 9/15-11/30 9/15-11/30 9/15-11/29 9/15-11/29 9/15-11/28 9/15-11/28 9/15-11/27 9/15-11/27 25 15 15 10 8 2 10 2 4 1 3 2 1 1 1 4 1 0 9 1 4 1 1 1 16 14 11 1 5 0 4 0 2 0 0 2 1 1 3 0 3 2 1 2 2 1 3 0 } 4 15 12 21 19 40 45 55 46 48 41 31 43 45 41 29 26 11 13 2 14 2 6 1 3 4 2 2 4 4 4 2 3 3 6 3 4 1 - Hunting district (HD) 313=Route Cr, M Fk Teton south. Including Lewis & Clark National Forest in Teton Co. - HD 314=north of 313 in Lewis & Clark National Forest to Birch Cr - Teton County within Lewis & Clark National Forest - HD 414=open to Highway 2 on national forest land east of Continental Divide - HD 414=south & east of Teton Pass down Trail 114 to road then east to national forest boundary then north to N Fk Dupuyer Cr then west up trail 724 to and along trail 125 (no longer numbered) to S Fk Birch Cr to its head at Continental Divide then south along divide to Teton Pass - HD 415=north of HD 414 to Highway 2 -39- Over the years hunting district boundaries and numbers of permits fluctuated throughout the state in response to demand and wildlife management philosophies which advocated harvest pressure to stimulate herd production (Figure 45) . Management of the East Front population reflected mountain goat management throughout the state (Figure 46) , but in both cases the desired population response was not achieved and eventually permits were reduced to accommodate decreasing herds. A more conservative management approach tov;ard mountain goats has emerged and so has the need for determining the status, trend and distribution of individual population segments. On the East Front at least 3 segments of the population have been identified as well as the relative population level of each. Distribution of each segment is being determined, as are population trends. Population information for the Teton-Dupuyer area indicates that the 5 permits which are currently allowed in hunting district 414 fall V7ithin the range of 4 percent (Kuck 1977) , 5 percent (Hall 1977) , to 7 percent (Adams and Bailey 1982) . The estimated mountain goat population is between 95 and 155 for himting district 414 (see Population Estimate section) . Ballard (1977) indicates that 10 percent of the observed number of raoimtain goats is used to establish permit levels in Alaska, hov/ever this method was developed for heavily timbered country and may be liberal in the Birch-Badger country. Eighty-four mountain goats were observed in the Birch-Badger portion of the study area but only 55 occurred v/ithin hunting district 415. That portion of the East Front mountain goat herd which is not hunted, particularly the Deep Creek-Sun River segment, has demonstrated a vulnerability to people in the past. Although this herd appears to be slowly increasing since transplanting and hunting ceased 10 years ago, its distribution has been altered and its ability to provide recreational opportunities has been severely limited. New pressures in the form of energy exploration and development, livestock grayling or other human activities could once again retard or reverse population growth. Reducing hunting seasons is not an equitable or acceptable method of compensating for impacts created by other human activities. If the management guidelines developed for the East Front are rigorously followed, and mountain goat herds still decline, then hunting seasons must be reevaluated. Establishment of conscientious hunting seasons requires knowledge of a herd's natural mortality, productivity and recruitment as well as hunter v/oulding losses, percentage of permit holders who participate in the hunt and hunter success.. Management of game animals theoretically strives to lim.it hunter take to somev;hat less than the net annual gain in population. If other human activities are taking a toll on population numbers through mortality, decreased productivity or habitat alteration, then they too must be taken into account when hunting seasons are -40- established.^ Proliferating road access is the primary problem which wildlife managers face when developments encroach into mountain goat country. The kind and degree of effect a road may have on a particular goat herd must be determined. In the past, mountain goats probably suffered less from poaching than most other species since road access into goat terrain was limited. Now that roads are penetrating their habitat, goats may be more prone to poaching losses since their structured, predictable behavior dictates use of traditional areas regardless of the presence of a road. Management Recommendations The ultimate goal of the East Front mountain goat investigation is to ensure the continued survival of a healthy, viable mountain goat population from the Sun River to Badger Creek while industry and recreation take place in the same country. The East Front Interagency Committee was in part established to pursue this goal. The committee consists of representatives from the Lewis and Clark National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, TJ. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. In April 1984 the Committee endorsed the Rocky Mountain Front Wildlife Guidelines (Appendix 23) which provide management direction for human activities in mountain goat habitat as well as in grizzly bear, raptor, elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep habitat. The recommendations provided here are the culmination of 5 years of study on the East Front mountain goat population. These recommendations reiterate and augment the endorsed mountain goat guidelines. Mountain Goat Seasonal Use Areas Criteria used in delineating seasonal use areas are described in Results and Discussion under Seasonal Distribution. The terms occupied, suitable and transitional habitat describe soecific areas within which human activities are managed under guidelines tailored to maintain the habitat requirements of mountain goats in that area. These guidelines include timing of use and certain activity restrictions. The area from the Sun River north along the North Fork Sun and Continental Divide to the Badger-Two Medicine Divide then south along the prairie-reef zone at the east edge of the East Front is defined by a heavy black line which delineates mountain goat habitat. The relative use of this area by mountain goats is indicated by areas identified as Occupied Yearlong Habitat (number 1) , Suitable Low Occupancy Habitat (number 2) and Transitional habitat (number 3) in Figures 24 through 44. Occupied yearlong habitat is the heart of mountain goat habitat on the East Front. It is used yearlong by mountain goats and contains all known kidding-nursery areas ' and breeding areas. Suitable low occupancy habitat possesses all the environmental features of Occupied habitat, but mountain goats have not been observed in these areas. Transitional habitat, by -41- virtue of its juxtaposition with the Occupied and Suitable areas, is used by goats primarily for travel, although some mineral licks do occur there. Mountain goat seasonal habitat delineations should be incorporated into the data base of the ItSWis and Clark National Forest for use in Forest planning. Kidding-Nursery Those areas in which a lone adult female v/as recorded during May or June, and those areas in which a kid of the year was observed during June, July, or August constitute known kidding-nursery areas. These areas are identified with a dotted line in Figures 24 through 44. Descriptions of environmental features used by mountain goats meeting the above criteria were discussed previously (see Seasonal Distribution, Kidding-Nursery Areas) . In all cases, known kidding-nursery areas occur in Occupied yearlong habitat. Timing restrictions for human activities in kidding-nursery areas occur from May 1 to July 15. Breeding Those areas known to be used by adult mountain goats during the November-December breeding period are identified with a dashed line in Figures 24 through 44. Descriptions of environmental features used by m.ountain goats at this time were discussed previously (see Seasonal Distribution, Breeding Areas) . In all cases, known breeding areas occur in Occupied yearlong habitat. Timing restrictions for breeding areas occur from November 1 to December 31. Mineral Licks Fifteen identified mineral licks occur within East Front mountain goat habitat. Eleven of these occur in occupied yearlong habitat (Figures 31, 35, 36, 41, 42, and 44), three occur in transitional habitat (Figure 37 and 39) and one falls outside the mountain goat habitat boundary (Figure 35) . The importance of mineral licks to mountain goats and the role they play in placing mountain goats in vulnerable situations av/ay from escape terrain was discussed previously. For these reasons, establishment of new mineral licks within mountain goat habitat should be done only after determining whether the proposed lick site would make mountain goats vulnerable to people or predators and whether its placement would pull livestock into areas of goat use during phenologically sensitive periods (May and June) . The following guidelines are recommended for management of mineral licks: 1) a no surface occupancy stipulation should be placed on energy and mineral exploration and development and timber harvest within a 0.8 km (0.5 mi) radius of mineral licks, 2) new mineral licks within mountain goat habitat should not be established without considering the safety of goats , -42- 3) limit livestock use of mineral licks to after July 1, or stagger allotment use no that adjacent licks are not used simultaneously, 4) establish helicopter flight patterns at least 1 . 5 km (1 mi) from mineral licks and during the May 1-July 31 period , 5) restrict use of roads and trails which come to within 0.8 km (0.5 mi) of a lick to nonmotorized use during the May 1 to July 31 period, and 6) the road crossing the Blackleaf lick should be relocated. Occupied Yearlong Habitat Occupied yearlong habitat (number 1) is vitally important to the well-being of mountain goat herds along the East Front. Mountain goats have been observed in these areas over the years during winter and/or summer. Environmental features used by mountain goats during summer and winter were discussed previously (see Seasonal Distribution, Summer and Winter Areas) and do not differ significantly from season to season. Therefore, areas in v/hich goats were observed during summer wore considered winter use areas as well, and vice versa. Particularly during mild years, mountain goats appear to travel their range almost as extensively as during summer. Since mountain goats use number 1 areas yearlong, the following guidelines are recoiranended : 1) restrict activities in winter range from October 15 to May 15, 2) obliterate and reclaim existing roads where access cannot be effectively controlled, 3) limit seismic operations to methods which can be accomplished in the least amount of time and with minimal disturbance, 4) maintain helicopter flight distances at a minimum of 200 ra (600 ft) from all ground surfaces (canyon walls included) , 5) restrict helicopter flight paths to corridors of maximum 0.8 km {0.5 mi) in width (or less if necessary to accommodate minimum flight heights) , 6) land types typical of occupied habitat are generallj' poor timber producers, timber harvest should not be allowed, 7) restrict livestock grayling to the period from July 1 to October 15, 8) do not use heavy equipment for fire suppression, if access is created to control fire, reclaim all roads and trails, 9) wildlife habitat manipulation should not occur unless a program satisfactory to the needs of all species whose habitat is involved is endorsed by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and 10) emphasize nonmotorized recreation. -43- Suitable Low Occupancy Habitat Suitable lov; occupancy habitat (number 2) ha? all of the physical characteristics of occupied yearlong habitat and are probably important mountain goat habitat, but observations of goats have not been recorded for these areas. Surveys of suitable mountain goat habitat must be made to determine whether goats are present prior to initiation of a planned activity. If goat use is documented, the stratification v/ill be changed to Occupied yearlong moimtain goat habitat and the listed guidelines will apply. If mountain goat use is not documented, then guidelines listed for Transitional habitat will apply. Transitional Habitat Transitional habitat (number 3) is used by mountain goats primarily during peak movement periods such as spring and fall, but they do not generally provide the environmental characteristics which goats seek. Terrain typical of Transitional Habitat generally has slope inclinations of less than 70 percent and/or elevations of less than 1830 m (6000 ft). Land types on Transitional Habitat usually have more soil accumulation and greater vegetation growth potential than those of occupied or suitable habitat. Creeks typically flow through the center of transitional habitat. The following guidelines are recommended for management of transitional habitat: 1) limit timber harvest, road construction, oil and gas or hard rock mineral exploration and development, to the period July 1 to October 15 and January 1 to April 30 (exclusive of spring transition and breeding movements) , and 2) restrict helicopter flight paths to water courses. Human Activities Facilities Since proliferation of road access has led to mountain goat declines in Montana (Joslin 1980) , British Columbia (Phelps et al. 1975) , Idaho (Brandborg 1955) , Alberta (Kerr 1965) and Alaska (Schoen and Kirschoff 1981) , it is recommended that roads and other facilities such as pipelines and powerlines not be constructed in Occupied and Suitable habitat. Recommendations specific to Transitional habitat are provided to reduce the overall effect of roads upon mountain goat habitat on the East Front. Roads should not be constructed within 0.8 km (0.5 mi) of Occupied and Suitable habitat. Existing roads within this 0 . 8 km buffer zone which approach known kidding-nursery or breeding areas should be obliterated and rerouted. If it is possible to create an effective road closure (strategically located gates) , then^ seasonal restrictions of May 1 to July 15 for kidding-nursery areas and November 1 to December 31 for breeding areas should be enforced. All roads built in Transitional -44- habitat should be reclaimed after they have served the purpose for which they were built. The Lewis and Clark National Forest Travel Plan should accoirartodate the needs of mountain goats by incorporating these recommendations when managing roads within mountain goat habitat. Oil and Gas Exploration The activity of helicopters and seismic crews are likely more disturbing than seismic blasts, although mountain goats would often startle and run v/hen blasts occurred. Wildlife will panic at the approach of helicopters (McCourt et al. 1974, Miller and Gunn 1979) , and mountain goats have been observed falling from cliffs when approached by helicopters (Joslin 1980) . Recommendations to confine and reduce the intense level of exploration activity involve: 1) establish helicopter flight paths and enforce strict adherence to a corridor 0.8 km (0.5 mi) in width (corridors should follow water courses in Transitional habitat when possible) , 2) require helicopters to maintain heights of 200 m (600 ft) from all ground surfaces, 3) consolidate the number of helicopter trips to complete each line, 4) space concurrently active seismic lines at nine mile intervals to provide an undisturbed corridor into which mountain goats can move when displaced. 5) no human activity should occur within the undisturbed corridor between active lines (including survey crews) , 6) the I;ewis and Clark National Forest's environmental assessment on oil and gas leasing on nonwilderness lands should be amended to include current information and recoimnendations concerning mountain goats. Livestock Grazing Overlap in range use by mountain goats and cattle occur primarily at mineral licks and can be minimized by implementing guidelines recominended in an earlier section on Mineral Licks. Forage and spatial competition with cattle have not been researched, but other than at lick sites, little direct competition is suspected. However, displacement of other ungulates, particularly bighorn sheep, may result in increased competition between other wildlife and mountain goats. It is recommended that actual and potential competition of various v/ildlife species and cattle be researched to determine where, \ • 1 o u . o 42.8 19.9 31.4 46.9 24.4 35.7 Mar 38.0 15.4 26,7 39.3 12.3 25.8 40.0 20,4 30.2 Feb 35,0 6.9 21,0 29,5 8.7 19,1 33.9 ■ 12.1 23,0 Jan 16.2 -6.4 4,9 19.9 --4.4 7.8 28.2 4.4 16,3 Snow Max . Depth Put Total Total on Ground .26 4,0 2,89 28.0 20 .55 8.0 3 .37 4.0 2.40 29.0 18 .55 11.0 6 0.49 2,0 2 0.21 0.5 0 1.84 2.0 0 1.79 6.0 4 2,63 JH in .89 0 0 0.94 0 0 0.86 0 0 0 , 69 0 0 0,57 0 0 0.86 0 0 3,51 0 0 1.88 t t 2.33 0 0 3.19 8.0 t 2.81 12.0 29 1.45 3.0 3 0.35 4.5 t 1.61 30.0 47 0.92 11.0 12 0.92 18.0 3,14 ■ 37.0 45 1,61 23.5 18 0,65 4.5 3,87 18.0 33 1.91 13.5 10 1.0 17.0 4.57 63.0 33 1.39 22,8. 11 -105- Appendix 1 continued. Month Ave . f-lax . Ave . Min . Snow Max . Depth 1981 Op Op Ave . Ppt Total Total on Rround Dec 33.5 1 / 11.6mi/ 22.6m 0.28 - - 31.2ra 13.3m 22.3m 2.97 18.0 12 33.3 16.8 25.1 0.94 7.5 5 ,. Nov m m m 0.10 1.0 - 44 . 3m 26.6m 35 . 5m 1.72 13.0 9 48.3 27.8 38 . 1 0.20 1.0 1 Oct 56.2 32.8 44.5 1.12 7.0 - 49.6 27.4 38.5 0.96 8.0 - 53.5 31.6 42.6 1.12 0 - Sept 72.3 39.2 55.8 .20 0 0 . 65.3 35.2 50.3 .36 0 0 70.7 39.3 55.0 .49 0 0 Aug 83.5 48.4 66.0 2.21 0 0 78.2 41.7 60.0 .74 0 0 80.7 46.0 63.4 1.59 0 0 Jul 79.4 47.1 63.3 1.21 0 0 72.3 43.5 57.9 1 .50 0 , 0 77 3 46 4 61.9 1 .88 0 0 Jun 62.4 38.9 50.7 2.21 0 0 Dh- , o 41 ^^3 1 1 62 0 0 May C Q "7 bo , / "Z Q Q JO . O /I Q SJ 45 . o A Q7 n w n u April 57.6 28.5 43.1 t t 0 53.3 32.1 42.7 .26 0 o' Mar 50.8 21.2 36.0 2.29 48.6 24.2 36.4 .83 1 Feb 39.8 20.2 30.0 .68 11.0 7 Jan 45.2 18.9 32.1 .33 42.3 21.8 32.1 .16 3.7 3 -106- Appendix 1 continued. Month 1980 Ave . Max . Op Ave . Mm . Op Ave. Ppt Total Snow Total V Id A . LJClJL.lL on Ground uec A 7 1 Q n 1 1 0 36.8 16.4 26.6 1.12 9.5 - 7 Nov - - _ 46.5 - 26.8 - 36.7 .46 4.5 3 UCL ui . 0 O 1 . O 1 '^7 J. . o / 59.6 33.9 46.8 1.30 - 2 oep L D / . U o ■ J. 1 1 7 1 0 0 66.9 ■ 42.3 54.6 1.37 0 0 Aug 71 4 47 8 57 . 1 1 .41 0 0 70.8 43.2 57.0 1.03 0 0 Till O UL ± 49 . 3 64 . 8 . 24 0 0 77.7 46.8 62.3 .67 0 0 Jun 67.0 _ 41.9 _ 54.5 _ 5.17 _ 0 _ 0 May 65.4 39.1 52.3 4.04 t 0 64 . 1 7 O 1 CI 1 o . uy U A u April 58.8 31.2 45.0 2.10 25 0 60.1 30.8 45.5 2.30 14.0 14 March 37.9 17.1 27.5 .87 39.1 20.9 30.0 .46 5.2 4 Feb 37.5 15.8 26.7 ,82 40.1 18.2 29.2 .82 18.0 11 Jan 24,7 1.0 12.9 .97 12.5 28.5 3.1 15.8 1.27 ■ . 16,8 13 1/ Incomplete data for month. -107- Appendix 2. °F Annual climatologlcal data from three stations on the East Front (Blackleaf , East Glacier, Gibson Dam) . ' Year °F Max °F Min Ave. 1982 90 85 86 -30 -33 -28 39.1 36.1 40.4 26.96 15,27 1981 96 89 94 -35 -29 32. 1 32.1 13.76 20.41 16.74 1980 91 92 -28 -29 - 42.5 18.16 32.74 22,06 1979 92 92 -34 -20 41.6 41.9 7.89 10.68 1978 91 89 -28 -34 40.9 40.5 18.40 29.87 17.59 1977 90 88 -31 -26 41.8 42.1 13.44 27.22 16. 18 1976 92 91 -24 -26 44.1 43,6 15.46 13.26 1975 93 92 -25 -22 39.1 39.8 25.35 43.72 27.36 1974 94 89 -29 -24 42.8 43.6 11.0 15 31 24.44 1973 99 96 -20 -22 42.5 42.6 5.27 17.21 8.11 1972 89 89 -42 -34 38.9 40.4 16.42 42. 03 17.70 1971 93 91 -40 -25 41.2 11.68 35.94 20.03 1970 91 -25 -35 41.0 16.47 34.66 18.84 -108- Appendix 3 . Mountain goat observation form. o I ID # DATE TIME |E GROIIND .,,,,_„ TYPEq: J ^ 0 0 — 1 CODP DATA-' — A' ■ E-T" k 5 10 ti 12 l3 UTM T^ENrr jrOT >1|_F AD_Yj_2jSA Jc juNCj DE^ ^'^ I I o C W P R s[d[_|nTl]s iELV — i^r'u~i — \^ SLPi C MRDi TT VEG P Appendix 4. Codes for mountain goat observation form. Column I- 4 Goat ID No. 5-10 Day, month, year II- 14 Military time 15 Zone 2 16-26 UTM - universal trans- verse mercator 27-28 Total no. goats observed 29 Adult males 30 Adult females 31-32 Unclassified adults (sex) 33 Yearlings 34 Two-year-olds 35-36 Unclassified subadults (age) 37 Kids 38-39 Unclassified goats (age & sex) 40-41 Drainage code 42-44 Land type 45 Goat seen (1) or not seen (0) 46 Degrees F 3 = 20-40 1 = less than 0 4 = 40-60 2 = 0-20 6 = over 80 Column 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54-55 56 57-58 59 Clouds 1 = clear 2 = ptly cloudy 3 = mostly cloudy 4 = overcast Wind - Beaufort numbers code MPH indicators 0 = 1 smoke rises vertically 1 = 1-3 smoke drifts 2 = 4-7 leaves rustle 3 = 8-12 leaves /twigs in constant motion 4 = 13-18 raises dust & loose paper 5 = 19-24 small trees in leaf, sway 6 = 25-31 large branches in motion 7 = 32-38 whole trees in motion 8 = 39-46 breaks twigs off trees 9 = over 47 structural damage Precipitation type 0 = none 1 = rain 2 - hail or sleet 3 = snow Precipitation rate 0 = none 1 = light 2 = moderate 3 = heavy Type observation 1 = air 2 = ground Ground condition 1 = dry 2 = damp 3 = wet, muddy 4 - scattered snow 5 = snow 6" 6 = snow 6-12" 7 = snow 12" Observers initials Data missing. If a 1 is entered computer will not consider entry. Elevation. Eg: 7800 = 78 Code data: 1 = prevented from locating 2 = no attempt to locate 3 = tried to locate but unsuccessful 4 = goat dead or collar retrieved 5 = nonspecific signal-could not pin down. (Enter code here if a 1 is entered in Col. 56). -110- Appendix k. continued. Column Column 60-61 69 Aspect 62 Distance to escape terrain* 1 N 1 10 m (*cliffs, bluffs, 2 NE 2 10-50 m cirque basins, 3 E 3 50-100 m broken) 4 SE 4 over 100 m 5 S 6 SW 63 Distance to timber 7 w 1 10 m 8 NW 2 10-50 m 9 flat 3 50-100 m 4 over 100 m 64 Distance to road 1 = h m± 2 = ij - ^ mi 3 = % - 1 mi 1 = over 1 mi 65-66 Terrain Type 1 bluffs 2 cliffs 3 cirque basin 4 talus slope 5 broken 6 ridge 7 park 8 creek 9 sidehill -111- Appendix 5. Mountain goats captured and marked on the East Front of the Rocky Mountains, 1979-1982,- EAR TAGS DATE LOCATION SEX AGE FREQUENCY C0L0R/SY^/1B0L Right Left COMf-ENTS — '■ — ■ — ~ 8/26/78 Mr. Frazier 9 Kid A5046 A6047 8/30/78 Mt. Frazier M Kid J668 J669 Red Richey ear tag with black 0 9/7/78 Mt. Frazier M Kid A1452 A1453 Red Richey ear tag with black X 6/27/79 Mt. Frazier F 3 yrs . 151. 052 White w/blackf^ A7477 A7476 Tranquilized w/24 mg succinyl choline chloride 7/14/79 Mt. Frazier M 3 yrs . 151. 185 Dark blue A7493 A7494 Transmitter Nonfunctional 9/82 7/14/79 Mt. Frazier M 2 yrs . Black w/yellow<^ A7490 A7489 Recaptured 6/17/82 7/ 1 A / 7Q Mt. Frazier M 2 yrs. R 1 CI r* V iaf / \Tf^ 1 1 c\\ki r A7498 A7497 7/23/79 Mt. Frazier M 8 yrs . 150. 723 Green A7496 A7495 Transmitter Nonfunctional 11/81 Retrieved 5/30/83 8/27/79 Mt. Frazier F 4 yrs . 151. 082 White w/black stripes A1455 A1454 Transmitter Nonfunctional 7/83 H> 8/97/79 Mt. Frazier p 4 yrs. 151 172 Black A7492 A7491 ' 8/27/79 Mt. Frazier M kid A7500 A7499 Orange plastic streamer in left ear Recaptured 7/15/82, Kid of 151.082 7 1 1 Al SO / / Z 4/ oU Our Lake r 3 yrs . 151 222 Red A7480 Transmitter Nonfunctional 5/83 7/24/80 Our Lake M 1 yrs . 151 851 Black/white stripe A6253 A6355 Dead goat located 8/13/82, collar § ear tag CA-6355) retrieved 1/2A/SQ Our Lake M kid A7488 A7478 Yellow tag in right ear 7/10/81 Mt. Frazier F 1 yrs . 151 526 White elastic Radio retrieved 7/9/82 7/20/81 Mt. Frazier F 1 yrs . 151 430 Black elastic A10573 Recaptured 6/23/82 (150.551) 7/20/81 Mt. Frazier M 1 yrs . 151 013 Red elastic A6264 A6265 Recaptured 6/22/82 (150.539) 7/ 9 7 / o 1 Mt. Frazier r 1 yrs . 150 912 Green elastic /\ J, I / O O H Tt^i n dTTTi f" Tslnn "F nn r* t" T nn a1 li/oi 7/27/81 Mt. Frazier F 4 yrs. 151 814 Red Yellow A10553 Recaptured 6/23/82 and 7/15/82 Continued on next page. Appendix 5 continued. 6/21,/?,2 Mt. Frazier M 2 yrs. Neckband 6/23/82 Mt. Frazier F 5 yrs. 151.814 7/15/82 Mt. Frazier M 2 yrs. 150.539 7/15/82 Mt. Frazier F 5 yrs. 151.814 elastic Orange/ white 2 Yellow/red ~ Yellow elastic 7/15/82 Mt. Frazier 2 yrs. 150.551 A8264 A10553 Yellow Yellow w/red stripe A10573 Red DATE LOCATION SEX AGE FREQUENCY COLOR/ SYMBOL FAR Right TAGS Left 7/27/ 81 Mt. Frazier \ Pi M 3 yrs . -f r 1 7 Q O 1 O 1 . /oo Yellow/red Q A10574 6/ 17/ 82 Mt. Frazier M AQUit 1 O X » O D O Yellow/black n A9631 A9630 O/ i // o/ Mt. Frazier ± O U « U-/ o Blue/red A9628 6/17/82 Mt. Frazier M Adult Neckband Black/yellow A7490 A7489 0/ 1 // oZ Mt. Frazier M AHnl t 1 50 340 Blue/yellow □ A / 1 1 1 9.1 Of i. 1 / OZ A / 1 1/91 0/ i // £5/ Mt. Mt. Frazier Frazier r'l M 6 yxs . o y i i) . X J U • J u / X»3 U e / U O Lt. blue/yellow stripe Green/ red [[^ A7498 A9627 A7494 A9629 ^ / 1 1 / 91 0/ ZZ/ OZ Mt. Frazier "C r 2 yTS . 1 0 U . D O X Black elastic A9636 A9637 ^ 1 11 t 91 1— ' 0/ ZZ/ 5Z I-" Mt. Frazier lY] 2 yrs . 1 D U . O Yellow elastic A8264 A8265 U) i 6/22/82 Mt. Frazier M Adult 151.180 Green/yellow X A9635 A9634 6/22/82 Mt. Frazier M Adult 150.269 Black/blue A9632 6/23/82 Mt. Frazier F 2 yrs. 150.551 Yellow/ red stripe A10573 A10540 A10539 A10553 A8265 COMNENTS Transmitter Nonfunctional 3/82 Right horn tip broken Right horn broken Captured 7/14/79 Captured 7/14/79 (151 . 185-Blue PVC) Transmitter Nonfunctional 10/83 Captured 7/20/81, recaptured 7/15/82 ri51.013-red elastic) Transmitter Non functional 9/83 Captured 7/20/81 (151 . 430-black elastic) Captured 7/27/81, recaptured 7/15/82 Kid was not captured Captured 7/20/81, recaptured 6/22/82 Transmitter Nonfunctional Captured 7/27/81, recaptured 6/23/82 Died 10/82 Retrieved 12/82 Captured 7/20/81, recaptured 6/23/82 Transmitter Nonfunctional 10/83 Continued on next page. Appendix 5 continued. EAR TAGS DATE LOCATION SEX AGE FREQUENCY COLOR/ SYMBOL Right Left COMMENTS 7/15/82 Mt. Frazier M kid 150. 590 Blue w/ green stream- ers Green elastic A9644 A9645 Transmitter Nonfunctional 7/83 If Mt. Frazier F 3 yrs . 150 492 A9643 A9642 Killed by hunter 10/10/82 7/15/82 Mt. Frazier F Adult 151 230 Yellow A9649 A9648 7/15/82 Mt. Frazier F 2 yrs. 151 240 Light blue A10535 One horn broken 7/15/82 Mt. Frazier M 3 yrs . Green w/white [ | A9641 A9640 Killed by Hunter 10/31/82 7/15/82 7/15/82 Mt. Mt. Frazier Frazier M F 3 yrs. Adult (1 Orange w/white.^^ y Blue w/white O 0 A 7 c n n A /b UU A10530 A 7/1 QQ A10538 Pfir! ■n1pc:i"ir' T'P a TTi P T 1 Tl Ipft 63.r iXC tX \J J- dLj C X V,^ O L. X C O-lilt; X _L±1. LK^ -I- <^ from 8/27/79 7/15/ 82 Mt. Frazier r? r 5 yrs . Vl y~\ A i.T / i.tI-i t 4- i-v 1 I (1 Kc U. W/WIIJLLC'I 1 ' 1 A1 0534 A10533 7/15/82 Mt. Frazier F Adult 151 290 Black w/yellov; stripe A10527 A10526 Died 2/84 Retrieved 5/9/84 1/ Goats captured in 1978 and 1979 were handled by Mike Thompson, in 1980 by Doug Tomasko and in 1981 and 1982 by Gayle Jos 1 in. Appendix 6 • Body measuremenis o£ eleven mountain goats captured at the Blackleaf lick site during June and July, 1981 and 1982. Horn Measurements Ear Tag No. S ex / Ag e Neck DOay Shoulder Lnest Rostrum Beard Ear Length Circumferen LeTZ in yrs . birtn Length neignt (iirtn Length Length Length Klgnt Lert Right Lerr \T/^ +■ O rr iNO t/ 1 7 n c J- / 00 . y DO . b / i . i 17 l^/ 17 1 J/ 15.2-^, 15.21/ lU . 2 10.2 lu , Z / . D / • D A1 (Ti^d n /I ZO . D y4 . u Di . U D/ . 0 1 r\ 0 1 n 0 iU , Z 7 n 7 n A10573 r / -L 7 QQ 1 Afi n OD . U ins 8.3 7.6 A10573 F/2 33.0 66.0 7.6 15.2 15.2 8.3 8.3 A9643 A9642 F/3 73.7 17.8 17.2 ^ 17.8 8.9 9.5 n 24.81/ 18,4 10.2 9.5 A10553 F/4 33.0 119.4 83.2 96.5 12.7 20.3 19.7 10.2 9.5 A10534 A10533 F/5 41.3 83.8 24. l|/ 17 8— ^ ■ T/ 15.2-'' A6264 A6265 M/1 31.7 101 .6 68.6 10.8 14.0 12.7 8.9 7.6 A10540 A10539 M/2 43.2 76.2 10.2 17.8 17.8 10.2 10.2 A7500 A7499 M/3 34.3 90.2 17.81/ 20. 3I/ 21.6 21.0 12.1 12.1 A10530 A10538 M/3 39.4 92.7 10.2 20. 3I/ A9641 A9640 M/3 19.41/ 20.3 12.1 11.7 A10574 M/3 35.6 96.5 71.1 87.6 10.8 20.3 20.3 10.5 10o5 1 All measurements in centimeters. 2 Rostrum measured from end o£ nose to base o£ horns. 3 Rostrum measured from end of nose to corner of eye. 4 Measurements from harvested animal killed October 10, 1982. 5 Measurements from harvested animal killed October 31, 1982. Appendix 7. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of East Front, March 11 and 12, 1981. Drainage UTM Location Total Adult Sub A Mt . Pola 35160/533790 12 8 2 Mt. Pola 35060/533830 4 2 1 Fanilly Pk 34940/533460 11 5 2 Mt Field 35310/533020 1 1 Mt Richmond 35560/533350 5 4 Mt. Sentinel 35710/533140 6 4 1 Lost Horse 35270/532780 3 2 M Fk Birch 35330/532690 1 1 Mt Drewyer 35570/532750 5 5 Crooked Mtn 35830/532970 13 5 1 Mt . Drewyer 35670/532630 3 2 Pinto Cr 35600/532450 3 3 Crazy Cr 35920/532250 3 2 South Cr 36470/532310 2 2 Hoy Gulch 36620/532290 1 1 Walling Reef 36530/533050 2 2 Walling Reef 36600/532920 2 1 Ear Mtn 37360/529770 4 3 N Fk Deep Cr 37350/529150 2 1 Miners Basin 36720/529070 4 2 2 Erosion Gulch 36930/528960 1 1 Erosion Gulch 36820/529060 1 1 No Business 37220/528740 4 2 Castle Reef 37220/528120 1 1 36670 /5''Q340 ? Rnrlcv Mfn 36450/5'?Q6ftn M rl n P Q o Q iiu.\.i jt. do o JL _) Ray Cr 1 J- 1 1 01 rl Efllriv X u, jjctj-uy J \j 1 lU L I- d Q Fi L i 1. 1 1 o 1 J- Mt Werner 37020/531770 2 1 Mt Frazier 36950/531910 4 2 Fright Cr 36540/532060 6 4 1 Old Man/Hills 36820/532240 5 4 Old Man/Hills 36770/532350 5 3 1 Bruce Cr 36230/531860 6 4 Bruce Cr 36040/531960 2 2 Bruce Cr 36040/531930 1 1 Jones Cr 36750/531170 7 3 1 Mt Wright 36230/531330 1 1 Mt Lockhart 36310/531100 2 1 N Fk Teton 36470/530580 2 2 Kid Unci. 2 1 3 1 3 1 11 3 -116- Appendix 8. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey. of East Front, July 11, 12 and 18, 1981. UiM. Location Total Adult Sub Adult Kid PcLIUJ-Xy IT K, jjU JU/ Diio lu 3 1 1 1 1 i i u r 1 1; X a Ji)/'fU/i> J JU/O 2 1 1 riL jjrewyer Ji> / olJ/ 5-3/0 JO 5 2 2 Pot- P a o ct j^yjU/ 5 J/200 1 "RllTTl ^V»r\t- XJlilll OIlUt J D i J U / 3 J / D D 0 1 1 Till 1 1 "1 /> T? <-» ^ waxxxug Jtveer Jd / /U/ 5 J/770 2 WclXXXng ixGcX JD0iU/3J/o/U I 1 WciXXXIlg iVGKX JDD/U/3J/D3U 6 2 1 1 jDO/U/jj/OjU 5 2 1 IN r iv L/upuyfeiir JO Dill /U / WXU ridll / nxx XS JDcS JU/ 5 J/ j JU J 1 .1 ^ n k" Tin t"M ITT t* o r IS, uLipuytix JoD jU/ J jiyoO D 2 2 2 iJ X Iv i./ LI p U. V G L 1 1 iJ 1. IX Lf HyKiy C L JDJ /U/ J J/UiU •7 / 2 3 1 ILL. W t. L lit; X. TAonn / T 1 7 1 n joyuu/ J Ji / iu 0 z 1 1 U U L clU. 1 I C. 2 1 1 ^^l.uJL^;d.u rlu J / i JU/ J J L4UU 1 1 oiiu LtJclU riu J / / ju/ 3 juy JO A y 4 3 2 Pn f- Pace '5AA0n /i^'3on"7A JOU/U/ J J/0 /O 1 1 o r K. IN d.nriy 1 1 o r In. in aiiiiy •3/^1 C;A / l^Ol Q7A / 1 1 Ml- Wr-f o-hi- / 2 Mt- U"r^ ah i- Xi-L WJLXgilL- JDU/U/DJi'toU J 3 JI1.L wxxgllu ^AA/iA / CITI /. 7A JDU4U/ -) J 14 /O / 2 ror wngnt 30040/531470 1 1 ric LiOCKnarc Q/il tin / coi non JOitJU/DiiOJO 7 5 2 waxQron Ux JD/4U/ 3 J0o70 4 3 1 L-ave i^tu JoyD0/530o90 2 1 1 uave nun J6970/530680 1 1 Rocky Mtn J6580/529720 4 2 2 Ear Mtn 37230/529930 1 1 Limestone Cr J5030/533760 1 1 Scar Face 34950/533770 4 1 2 1 JJUJU/ J J Jo / u / 1 1 Morning Star 34850/533930 2 1 1 Scar Face 35050/533840 1 1 Spotted Eagle 34620/533930 3 2 1 Spotted Eagle 34620/533920 4 ■ 2 2 Spotted Eagle 34610/533910 6 3 1 2 Spotted Eagle 34610/533910 1 1 Curly Bear 34530/534040 3 I 1 1 Badger Cr 34760/534180 3 1 1 1 Slim Gulch 37050/529460 2 1 1 S Fk Teton 36750/529550 2 , 2 S Fk Teton 36430/529890 9 8 1 Appendix 9. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of the East Front, April 1982, Sub- Drainage UTM Location Total Adult adult Kid Unci Birch Cr 3649/53333 2 2 M N Fk Birch 3543/53318 2 2 N Fk Birch 3552/53325 7 2 2 Y 2 1 N Fk Birch 3565/53334 3 1 1 Y 1 N Fk Dupuyer 3669/53255 1 1 , N Fk Dupuyer 3680/53247 1 1 M N Fk Dupuyer 3681/53230 1 1 N Fk Teton 3676/53120 1 1 F E Fk N Fk Teton 3682/53157 2 1 F 1 W Fk Teton 3622/53145 1 1 M M Fk Teton 3644/53026 2 2 Y S Fk Teton 3646/52984 14 5 2 5 2 Biggs Cr 3655/52947 . 6 2 2 2 S Fk Willow Cr 3723/52993 5 2 1 2 -118- Appendix 10. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of the East Front, July 1982. Sub- Uj- ciJ-llclHC' TITM T nra1--i nn Tnt n 1 rVQLlX L dUUl L Tf"-! rl iJcHa^ C A Li JLJIIC 0 UUi t C A H- 9 F 0*4^70/ ooooy 1 J- 1 1 ■ 4 0 X Is. DclU^cI A1 R / C.'Z.AOn 10/ JOH^^.\J 1 1 1 R 1 r \1 TVl/ R jH (T QT* IN IK DcLaj^ci 1 1 IN I K. dciQger 7 0 1 p S Fk Badger "7/11 7/C7/10C i 1 S Fk Badger o4io/ bo4U / Z 1 c 1 r ■1 1 S Fk Badger 3451/ 53410 7 3, 2 F 2 b rk Badger 3454/53411 2 2 M Badger -Lonesome 34y // D Jjyz 1 1 Badger -Lonesome 3459/53391 5 z , 1 r 1 1 1 S Fk Badger 34y^/ 53350 1 1 M In rK tSircn T/ln/l / C77/10 3494/ 5334o 6 1 , 2 F 1 2 IN rK Dircn 3503/ 53345 9 IT OF" 5 , I r 2 M rK riaxneaa 7Cn7 / C7701 oo03/533/i 1 i i M i\ I K Dircn 7c;nQ/c;77o^ ooUo/ oooZt) /I 4 i r , i M z IN rK DlxCn 7c:iyi / c777n poi4/ 000 oU i 1 1 JV U X J- V^Il 7c;i c; /q7777; 1 F X r i. IN 1 IS. D 1 1 0014/ 000^0 1 J. M FV PI qtlipnri I'i 1 JV 1 X4aLJX\--ctU OOiy/ OOOID 9 M i'l 1|\ D.LXV_li ooOii,/ 000 U^l 7 0 1 IF 1 M PV Ri Ti-Vi rl r i\ D ± J. dl 0001/ 0004 i 0 9 R 1 S7/'^'';?QR 7 0 1 F X r M Fk Birch ■zrrf: / r70[ro 1 X 1 X M Fk Rirrh OOUO/ 0 0 ^ 0 JL 7 0 1 F L Fk Rirrh xc;Q4/t;'3;99c; OOC'H-/ OOi^^O 1 1 M N F]( Dupuyer ODO/ / oOZ/4 1 i 1 1 M Th Til I'm 1 'XT'^'Y* Pi IK UUjJUyt;?! ODDO/ OOZoo Z M IN rK uupuyer oDDo/ oozoy y Q 1 IN rK uupuyer 3Dt)o/ 53z5o 5 1, 1 F 2 1 N Fk Dupuyer 3677/53238 1 1 M S Fk Dupuyer 3665/53194 3 1 F 1 1 S Fk Dupuyer 3666/53191 2 1, 1 M 0 rK uupuyer 366y/ 53io4 1 -f 1 S Fk Dupuyer 3689/53200 1 1 S Fk Dupuyer 3695/53199 6 2, 1 F 2 1 S Fk Dupuyer 3693/53197 1 1 F Blackleaf Cr 3696/53197 5 2, 1 F 1 1 Muddy Cr 3683/53157 3 1, 1 F 1 Muddy Cr 3708/53157 1 1 M Muddy Cr 3711/53141 1 1 M S Fk Teton 3718/53033 1 1 F S Fk Teton 3637/53008 2 1 F 1 S Fk Teton 3638/53015 3 2 1 S Fk Teton 3643/52996 4 1 M, IF 2 -119- Appendix 10 continued. Sub- Drainage UTM Location Total Adult adult Kiel S Fk Teton 3641/52991 4 1 F 2 1 1 S Fk Teton 3653/52969 1 1 F S Fk Teton 3664/52970 2 1 F 1 S Fk Teton 3678/53005 1 1 F S Fk Teton 3700/52985 1 1 S Fk Teton 3707/52971 1 1 N Fk Teton 3716/53127 2 1 F 1 N Fk Teton 3713/53127 5 2 F 1 2 N Fk Teton 3708/53129 4 3 1 N Fk Teton 3711/53134 2 1, 1 M N Fk Teton 3712/53135 1 1 M N Fk Teton 3712/53137 2 1 F 1 N Fk Teton 3629/53162 1 1 N Fk Deep Cr 3744/52897 3 1 F 2 N Fk Deep Cr 3726/52917 1 1 M N Fk Deep Cr 3717/52917 1 1 M N Fk Deep Cr 3733/52906 5 2 F 2 1 S Fk Deep Cr 3723/52875 5 2 F 2 1 Sun River 3718/52788 1 1 Sun River 3672/52938 1 1 M Sun River 3646/52980 . 5 2 F 1 2 Sun River 3619/52989 1 1 M Sun River 3635/53015 1 1 M Sun River 3595/53067 11 7, 1 F 2 1 -120- Appendix 11. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of East Front, Jul}^ 1983 OUD AuUXr TTTM T ^^^ nn UJ.il ljUL.clL.XULl Mai o i Id X c r emaxe TTnV 1 9 unK i Z unK Kiel O L. tic U \^ t jjUJU/jjj/'IU 1 i i 9 L 1 i 1 X O i IS, r)clu.Je^eL 1, z z JjUJ IcIoUMIC l 1 J 1 ■ 1 /. 4 IjU lie o L T A J /. z 1 T nTic»G/*nT!0 C^f JjU iLc oM lUc \-i X ■3 J 1 JL i I O ri\. iJcHl^cL TA^9 ^ / R "^A 1 1 n D o z 1 i i o Z J-iUHcoOinti V^L TA Tn / '^'i/i Air\ JHJJU/Jj't't/U 1 1 i JLjU lie o UlUc: \j L 9 9 T d Gr^TTfio Pv 1 1 1 T."f TTiP Q f" nnp Pt J ^\J\J\J / JO JO o\j 9 1 X 1 i S Fk Rfidcrpr J Q z Kip Cr 9 Z. 1 1 i -5 1 X 1 1 N Fk B-irrh 1 1 1 i R1 1 nH r.r i u A a c J Blind Cr 352'50/'S'5j'^l AO ■J -J ^ \J 1 _JJJX*-r\J 1 X Blind Cr ■^S2'in/ST^1 if) ~j -) ^ -) yj 1 9 1 X 1 i T.DQt" HoTClp C.TT 1 X X T.nQl" Hdtqp Ht* "^Sl fif)/S^?Q7f) 1 X 1 X 1 X 1 X Nptittv Ct J\)\J I x».>u z. 0 c 1 X 1 X JJ70U/JJ/i/U J 91/ 1 1 PaTitTnn Pt ■^fi^An / '^T9fiAn 9 ^rifion Pt* Tfifinn /'^T9Rfin 0 /. 1 1 1 i "NT Pit n nTMTtTQT* IN r Ix iJUpLiy IT TfifiRfi / '=;i9 "^ftn 9 1 i 1 i IN r K. uupuyer •^AAvn / i^'39t;t;n JDO /U/ J JZJ jU ■J i 1 N Fk Dupuyer jDoyu/ J JZD4U i 1 N Fk Dupuyer JD / /U/D J/DDU n Z 1 1 N Fk Dupuyer Jo J/U/ D J jU 1 1 S Fk Dupuyer JdouO/5 J/.350 5 1 2 Kival Lr jdddU/ 5 Jiy50 1 1 Klvai Cr o££cn / col n/'A iooSU/ 5 JiyoO 1 1 Kivai \jT oc^/. A / cot Ann 1 1 t 1 S Fk Dupuyer 36950/531990 5 1 1 Nanny Cr 36030/532140 2 2 Bruce Cr 36120/531870 4 3 1 Bruce Cr 36220/531880 2 1 1 Bruce Cr 36210/531870 1 Bruce Cr 36120/531860 1 Bruce Cr 36100/531810 1 Jones Cr 37040/531410 1 Jones Cr 37050/531420 Bruce Cr 36190/531450 1 -121- Dtp i n ;^ (Jf^ UTM Location Total Adult Male Female Unk Sub Adult 1 2 Unk Kid 35980/531490 1 1 M Fit Tptnn 36370/530160 2 2 T?rMii-rs Pt* T6iAn/s'^m so 1 X o r t\. 1 c L Ull 1 X 1 X T64'iO/5301 70 2 2 INeSDir or Jjyzj/JJUDJU o ■3 J X ^ Ll.CdUULLCLX UCXtJ 3fi390/5?9870 15 X J 5 , 3 3 4 ^lOnf-'h Cr 36640/529650 9 2 3 '^6640/599760 1 X 1 Snnrh Cr OvJLlL,lL ViX 36620/599750 2 2 S Fk Teton 36620/529810 1 1 South Cr 36730/529540 1 1 S Fk Willow 37230/529750 8 3 1 2 2 IN r K. UCGp •^7 "^RO / ^70070 J / JoW/ J LyK) I \j 1 1 1 X N Fk Deep 37170/529160 2 1 1 No Business 37120/528590 1 1 S Fk Deep 37240/528720 4 2 2 Ray Cr 36080/529830 2 2 Ray Cr 36190/529880 2 2 Total 184 19 57 44 3 2 28 31 -.Radio collar 7881, 5 year male -.Neckband blue and white no. 32, adult female -Neckband red and white no. 42, 6 year female, radio collar 2302, adult ^ /female; radio collar 2402, 3 year female ^^Radio collar 2902, adult female -Radio collar 2202, adult female -122- Appendix 12. Location and classification of mountain goats observed during helicopter survey of North Fork Dupuyer to South Fork Teton portion of the East Front, April 30 and May 1, 1984 Drainage Sheep Cr Scoffin Cr Canyon Cr N Fk Dupuyer S Fk Dupuyer Cov7 Cr Muddy Cr Blackleaf Cr Blaekleaf Cr Blackleaf Cr Muddy Cr Jones Cr Jones Cr Jones Cr E Fk Teton Nanny Cr Bruce Cr N Fk Teton M Fk Teton S Fk Teton S Fk Teton S Fk Teton S Fk Teton Total 1/ 4/ 5/ Adult UTM Location Total Male Female Unk 36520/533270 36690/532830 36670/532590 36770/532430 37060/532280 37170/532080 37070/531640 37290/531790 36960/531730 36940/531720 37080/531480 37130/531240 37090/531260 36790/531160 36630/531930 36120/532120 36100/531800 36330/531490 36380/530450 36480/530220 36540/530000 36440/529850 11 36450/529860 Sub Adult 1 2 Unk Kid Unci, 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 1 i2/ 3 1- 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 3 1 1 1 iV 1 2 2 4 1 2 5 1 3 8 5 5 3 1 11 7 2 2 60 14 29 1 1 2 1 ^ ^Neckband blue and white no. 32 adult female ^ ,Rad io collar 8612 adult male T, Radio collar 2692 adult male Radio collar 2302 adult female -^Radio collar 2402, 3 year female and neckband red and white no. 42, year female -'^Neckband black and yellow no. 19, 6 year male Radio collar 7082 adult male -123- Appendix 13. Locations of mountain goats observed within the East Front study area during the March (circles) and July (squ^s) 1981, helicopter surveys, r --UP 108^ - TETON , -Bald L'/' 'itiji Our .-^ r iHeadqwefters Cr^ 31 1 ' 32 1 ^l-. : — ••■.■■I I ' / ^ VAOM . ^. ■ -r_v-\- I i I Arsenic > '! 1 rj\ffi ' -Ml \ ,s IV)/ i"" T ' \s 'L T~7 Appendix 14. Locations of mountain goats observed within the East Front >_j__' study area during April (squares) ,': and July Ccircles) 1982, heli- copter survey. 21 I HANNAN JT ~ ' Wagner oulchM home /€asm /MUlt GmCH Vt; — / ■ /// -4- r RIV Bullshck, 'Runoing Owl Mtn i I Mtn • -^j- -3, . 1 I \\ V,;- " 8«»in * ^ I - *" I " > I FeatherWoman ' i -c^* Bruin Pks ■ 1 ICurlyBegn -I ' 1) I ' Scarf ace 1. /yr\^>-^^i -N f y I » w V I 5674 Passj fTs, v' i .<-X Appendix 14 continued. Heart , Butte Mt I'^Y^ Itlltoaring 'prinQ i 4' ( Opo'ltedVV-Wio ■'[Huri'iparieL, ij TV Mhi - > )..};., _Mtn I I } oJ! '^'ifr 1 1 Patrick Gass ,0 « 1 ^ '>i. _ ' '^t_! - i-/^ ! ■/ -1 Hills--' /TVGaleway ) 1 « • « ■ i " V , I I -^(ntelope 4 ^- Appendix 14 continued. \.l \ ' ^ K Mount I 1^ ■ ' - -1 ; V i.^*/f Lock lart j->;v C.I' ,825. -^'.{ I Moonlights,^ ^ ■ — - < Vi'. 3« I ■ 1 ' ^TelOn TETON ' '-""^ i ' ^ lo (NDI/ii^ HEAD RCM K i-,^--ri Mountain \ i i \:]- A- I. I 7^ I I ~,-;>t>tiair^tn ' "-4 4- it I- Heart Butte \i 92041 Y Locations of mountain goats observed within the East Front study area during July, 1983, helicoDter survey. atewayl \ ~* j \{\ ^1 1\ I'j: ■. _ _i _ _ _ 5 ^1 >3 20 1^ 1/ V 1 _ - - f'.f- ,'-1 M „. i%i.:.*Cp^ « ' — — How-^ - -r viount May A 1 j^"^J . rH-! ■ 1 u.il 1 HiU I . -i. :H4^^ , - -V- 1 I, ^qmts \_ Patrick .Gass Troll ^ iMtr. \ 2iN Appendix 15 continued. Moun " ,82M .■ I S ! I 8 s7 ' -5 *7,. / \^ . ,^ Mount • I ON^PASS ' SK/ /|IREA_ I co>iIl!'~' ' " Warner \ 2. ' ■I ^ lU- - \ I ,X i;'! ,, CRoteau";-, I I i- : / ~— iil K --^ I OS(t£ U '"^'rt *L«>_ ' ' AET i-MIDDlE FORK s^— "V^^^r-w^ -^^r-i-f-.'^i^ "J '::N " I t ,08 ^''-'l -SJ TETON /i?"^ I ' -1 .^p»'i^;^>?^ — '-^^i^Blf — r — !— ^-i- — v-, ^,:s?sfe&i:~;=s^>Si,"^:^ ... 'Ta "'7 - - ^ h — J. — + t- : ^S"- L. , \- - -I t" " ' '•ETON V*/ I' '(^1 -all / ^ J VABh J '_ ^C<^ \l :>> ^ t h. -i- I Biggi Creek • ' ' ~- ' grou ^-^1 Horse 1 ^ 1 / fi. V7 f/ii-' Arsenic v. I v Jv' V - f'-'-'^J /I ^RVE Appendix 15 continued. -/ -131- Itn , 1 I I 3! (eullshde iRumiing Owl h ,>_Mtn I, i_ 33^' Mt£ , , I . SruinPVs I,"- i " V, ij • i i\ t > 21 v> 1 Mov»ncn i y ., tBaiifi -^-^^ 'Feather'woman N ^_\\ . J.L *^3L^^1'^ + - ' . w )■ ' U) I U J\ 1 PONDE^V- C^"^.___! Appendix 15 . continued ^1 1 1 i\_^^>'~ 'K J /-I I Y . . ■ ;a '/ j; I / I Moonhghtj,^ ( goats observed within the East Front study area during April 30 and May 1, 1984, helicopter survey. , I 1 _ _ ^ XT. PgttK^k Gass j_ ^ I -«r ' I 111' _ K-'- Jh'-^ Jo 5jt?tZ^^_ 1 I I , IT .1 ,i.PaiiW-' ,^ Mount ^ - -I /" ^~ u^'i'Af Locl^hart h\ I \ Q: I I '_PS5^ I ,\ ,1 ^ L_ . -M^ Z. iV_ 16\ r ,1 CKckeau^N ■ o:m Mtn A _S3<3s -Antelope ' Butte ^it'S- TETON ■7-5513 I ^ \ A / 82/ J -L ' 5 \ ' ie-Cr, A, I -'-1 \J\ ^__,L'-A.^i^"'iL — — iv^ 1^1-''"' _rEto^f^*/y i\5 y j774:i':-LHeadqbi3rters Cri y'^ If I Y:>:sRpckyMtn iEaf _ Appendix 16 continued. Biggs Crcok , ' ' J^^-Cl^^^^V^^H' l'/ .Sulphur -Creek + I Lick , I 0/ " oNT) "--x I ASheepi ,15 / :.:3o) 1' f -ft \ . If. / / ^(V;~ Arsenic '^^ I " x ^_IY V - \ " '^y — |84S8jyita. 1 V I -I. BWfl /I 00! I Irocfcoridgi ^( -> :1' i Wead -134-.g! Appendix 17. Location and description of mountain goat feeding sites examined during 1981. DATE LOCATION DRAINAGE ELEVATION ASPECT T R S fFeet) March 15 26N ■ low 25 W Fk, N Fk Teton 7450 SW 15 26N low 25 W Fk, N Fk Teton 7400 SW 16 25N 9W 12 Jones Cr 8200 SW 28 25N 9W 14 Jones Cr 7700 w 28 25N 9W 14 Jones Cr 7650 s April 2 25.N 9W 34 SW S Fk Teton 6000 SW 2 25N 9W 34SW S Fk Teton 6100 SW 11 25N 9W 26 M Fk Teton 6400 E 30 26N 9W 10 Blackleaf Cr 6600 SE May 23 25N 9W 34SW S Fk Teton 6400 s 24 26N 9W 10 Blackleaf Cr 6400 SE 25 26N 9W 10 Blackleaf Cr 6600 SE 25 26N 9W 11 Blackleaf Cr 6900 SE 25 26N 9W 10 Blackleaf Cr 6300 S June 2 27N 9W 35SE S Fk Dupuyer 6200 SE 5 26N 9W 14NW Blackleaf Cr 6000 SE 5 26N 9W 15 Blackleaf Cr 6400 SE 5 26N 9W 10 Blackleaf Cr 6800 E 22 25N 9W 7SW Frenchy Gulch 6800 SE July 5 25N 9W 1 Blindhorse 7700 E 5 25N 9W 1 Blindhorse 7700 E 22 24N 9W 20SW S Fk Teton 7200 E 22 24N 9W 20NW S Fk Teton 7000 NE 27 26N 9W 10 Blackleaf Cr 6800 E August 19 26N 9W 15NW Blackleaf Cr 7200 SE 20 24N 9W 19 Headquarters Cr 7700 N 20 24N 9W 19 S Fk Teton 7700 E 21 27N 9W 21NW N Fk Dupuyer 7500 N 21 27N 9W 21NW N Fk Dupuyer 7500 E September 11 25N 9W 7SW Frenchy Gulch 6600 SE 11 25N 9W 12 Frenchy Gulch 7400 NE 26 26N 9W 10 Blackleaf Cr 7000 ' E 26 26N 9W 10 Blackleaf Cr 7500 E 26 26N 9W 10 Blackleaf Cr 7000 E -135- Appendix 18. Average percent frequency and cover o£ general vegetation classes from five mountain goat feeding sites during March through September, 1981. Bare Ground Grass Forbs Shrubs Rock Sedge Lichen Litter Moss (Snow) March 6.6/0..'^-^ 60.0/1.8 56.0/2.9 37.3/7.8 97.3/54.4 17.3/0.4 4.0/Tr-' 45.3/13.3 April May 14.9/1.0 60.0/7.2 91.7/3.8 80.0/30.6 60.0/19.8 23.3/3.3 1 . 7/Tr 70.0/11.2 30.9/1 .4 June 54.7/7.8 77.3/14.8 97.3/7.5 78.7/27.3 68.0/16.1 20.0/0.6 13.3/0.1 70.0/9.3 30.6/1 .0 70.7/11 84.0/16 100.0/21 60.0/16 82.7/22 16.0/1.1 2. 7/Tr 52.0/6.1 10.7/1.8 July 58.7/9.5 89.3/13.7 100.0/35.7 13.3/3.4 65.3/17.4 18.6/1.0 6. 7/Tr 64.0/6.8 24.0/3.5 August 34.7/4.5 61.3/3.6 100.0/32.0 16.0/3.7 94.7/37.2 49.3/5.6 8.0/0.2 77.3/19.0 28.0/0.8 September 54.7/9.3 88.0/15.8 98.7/39,1 26.7/6.7 70.6/22.9 29.3/4.4 6.6/0.4 97.3/29.9 14.6/3.5 !_/ Frequency [occurrence in 15-2X5 dm frames) /average cover [average of cover categories in 15 frames). 2/ Tr = trace, less than 0.1 percent. Appendix 19. Average percent frequency and cover of plant species from five mountain goat feeding sites measured each month from March through September, 1981 Trees March April May June July August September Abies lasiooarpa . 6.6/1.0-'^ 5.3/0.7 X Pseudotsuga menz-iesii Shrubs Hikes sp. X X 1.3/Tr X Piaea a/ *1/Pinus alhioaulis 1.7/Tr- 1.3/Tr X X ■ X * Pinus flexilus 6.6/1.1 3.3/1.1 2.6/0.9 4.0/0.3 X.- •■ 2.6/0.2 1.3/0.2 1.3/Tr X 4.0/0.2 1.3/0.5 X * Acer qlabmm 3.3/Tr 1.3/0.8 ' ' 1.3/Tr Melanchiev alni folia 5.3/Tr 8.2/0.5 X * Arotosixcphylos uva- UTsi 26.6/3.8 36.7/13.8 46.7/20.1 9.3/3.9 8.0/2.3 X ' 1.3/0.5 * Berberis vepens 28.3/0.2 4.0/Tr 2.7/Tr 2.6/0.4 * Jimiperus oormunis 6.6/2.5 10.0/4.3 1.3/0.5 12.0/3.3 1.3/0.8 4.0/2.1 * J, horizontalis 10.0/2.0 4.0/0.5 J. soopuLorim 1.7/0.2 Lonioeva utahensis ^ • 3/ Penstemon frutioosus 6.7/Tr Philadelphus lewisii 1.7/Tr 8.0/2.8 Potentilla fruticosa 14.6/2.6 25.0/2.7 8.0/3.3 9.3/3.0 5.3/Tr 9.3/0.6 8.0/1.5 Prunus virginiana 1 • 7/Tr 2 . 7/Tr 5.3/0.5 * Rosa sp. 30.0/0.2 45.3/0.2 40.0/1.4 4.0/0.2 Rubus idaeus 4.0/0.7 R. parviflorus ^ • 3/Tr * Salix sp. . X ^ S. avtica 1.7/Tr 4.0/Tr * Shephevdia canadensis 1.3/Tr 20.0/5.1 6.7/2.2 2.6/0.7 2.7/0.7 5.3/0.8 Spiraea beiM.li folia 5.3/0.1 Symphovicarpos albus 2 . 7/Tr X Appendix 19 continued. Forbs March April May AcUllia millefolivm 1.3/Tr 18.3/Tr ^^.e/Tr Agosev-ls sp. ' ' * A. glauca Androsaoe sp. 1.3/Tr A . lehnanniana 25.3/0.1 A. septentrionalis Angelica sp. ^/n o * Anemone rmltifida 8-3/Tr 17.3/0.2 A, nuttalliana 1.7/Tr * A. parviflora 107/19 Antennaria sp. 1.3/Tr A. alplna 3.3/0.6 4.0/Tr A. mioTophylla 1.3/Tr A. vacemosa * Aquilegia flavesaens A. jonesii Arabis sp. 7 n/^ A. nuttallii l.VTr 4.0/Tr Avenavia sp. 8.0/0.1 A. oap-lllavis A. oongesta A. hookeri b.//ir A. ohtusiloha * A. rossii A. rubella 6.6/Tr * Arnica sp. A. alpina 9 * A. cordifolia A. lati folia A. longi folia A. rydbergii * Artemesia michauxiana Aster sp Jime July August September 2Q 3/0.4 66.7/2.6 30.7/1.3 49 .3/3.5 9 .3/0.5 4.0/Tr -I 1 . 3/ Ir 13 3/0 7 8 .0/1.1 X 16.0/1.0 37.3/1.2 21 .3/1.6 X 24.0/0.2 z 'Z / A A . 0/ U . 4 5 .3/0,6 5.3/0.4 13 .3/0.8 X 33.3/3.5 17.3/1.4 1 .3/Tr 2 7/Tr 5.3/0.5 6 .7/0.2 17 .3/2.6 6.7/0.1 6.7/0.3 21 ,3/2.1 9.3/1.4 4 . 0/Tr 6.7/0.5 1.3/Tr 1 . 3/Tr 8 .0 Tr 6 . 6/ 1 r 7 7 /T-r 32.0/2.22 X 8 .0/0.8 4 .0/Tr 6.7/0.3 5.3/0.1 17 .3/0.5 1 .3/Tr 2.6/0.2 5 ,3/0.6 10.7/0.9 5.3/0.3 .6/Tr 1 .3/Tr 12.0/0.6 8.0/1.3 '.6/0.2 4.0/0.3 1.3/0.5 2. 7/Tr 10.7/1.6 1.3/Tr Appendix 19 continued. Forbs continued. March April May * A. alp-igenus * A. foliaaeus * A. integvifotius * A. oceidentaUs A. siber-ious Astragalus sp. X 1.3/Tr A. alpinus * A. bowgovi-i 1.3/Tr A-, miser X A, vexilliftexus Balsamorhiza sagittata Besseya Wyoming ensis 5. 3/Tr Boraginaoeae . * Bupleurwn amevioanvm 13. 3/Tr 16.0/0.2 Campanula rotundifolia Castillesa sp. * C. rhexi folia Cerastium arvense 1.3/Tr C. berringianvm 4 . 0/Tr C. vulgatum Cirsium sp. 1.3/Tr Clay tenia megarhiza Clematis sp. X C. pseudoalpina Collinsia parvi flora X * Comandra umbellata 1.3/Tr Compositae 2.6/Tr 8, 3/Tr 6.7/Tr Cruci ferae 1 • 3/Tr Douglasia montana 1.3/Tr 1 . 7/Tr 10.7/0.3 Drdba lonohoaarpa 1.7/Tr D. oligosperma ^ 5.0/Tr 1.3/Tr D. paysonii Dryas ootopetala 2,6/Tr Epilobium alpinvm June July August September /: D "7 / n c . // (J . D 1 . 3/Tr 6.7/0.5 6 .7/0.6 Z .6/0.4 2.7/0.2 12 .0/1.3 1 . 3/Tr 10.7/1.0 14 . // O . i O / 7 / c /I . o/ o . 4 4 . 0/ 1 r 44 . U/ D . 4 9^ 7/9 n Q O . U/ u . z . o/ 1 r Q y /Tt- • o/ 1 T 9 /T-r Y A 9 . D/ i 1 Z • D/ 1 X D 7 /T-r 1 n J. u 7/n 6 1 0 J- V) 3/0 1 8 .0/0.2 1 o 7/n A 9 fi/n 4 9 z. • u/ w • 2 3/0 2 9 6/n 2 6 7/n 8 2 6/Tr 10 7/0 9 1 9 n /n . u/ u . u /O 7 1 7 /I n iT-r 'J- . U/ i 1 io , O/ i . 0 z> X /Tt- . o/ 1 r 7/9 Y A X 1 . 3/Tr 4 .0/0.3 1 .3/Tr 28 .0/0.2 18.7/0.7 2 .6/Tr 14 .7/1.0 5.3/0.1 5 .3/0.6 X 10. 7/Tr 1 .3/Tr 5 .3/Tr 5.3/0.6 X 1 .3/Tr 1 .3/0.2 1 . 3/Tr 4.0/1.7 42 .7/13.8 14 .7/7.1 1 .3/Tr Appendix 19 continued. Forbs continued. March April May * E. angustifolium 5.3/Tr * Evi-geron sp. E. oompositus 12.0/2.7 13.3/Tr 5.3/Tr E. grandiflorus * E. humilus E, lanatus E. peregrinus E. pumilus 5.0/Tr 8.0/Tr E. simplex E. speoiosus * Eriogonum sp. 3.3/0.3 9.3/0.1 E. flavim E. ovalifolium 8.0/Tr * E. imbellatum Erythronium gvandiflovwn 1.7/Tr * Fragavia vivg-iniana 20.0/0.2 10.6/0.1 Evaseva speciosa * Gaillardia aristata Galium horeale 4.0/Tr 43.3/0.2 17.3/0.1 G, trifidvm G. triflorim 6.7/0.8 * Gentiana oalyaosa Geranium viscosissimm Gevm sp. Haakelia ftorihunda * Haplopappus sp. H. tyallii * Eedysavvm sp. H, atpinian H. sutphuresoens Herasleum lanatum Heuahera sp. 1.3/Tr 1.7/Tr 6.7/0.4 H, parvi folia 2.7/0.2 June July August September 2.6/Tr 8.0/0.4 4.0/0.3 2.6/Tr 2.7/0.4 4.0/Tr 2.6/Tr 1.3/Tr 1.3/Tr 16.0/2.2 6.7/Tr X X X 10.7/0.8 5.3/Tr 2.6/0.2 10.6/0.7 X 1.3/0.2 1.3/Tr 1.3/Tr 2.6/Tr 4.0/0.2 4.0/Tr X 2.7/0.2 1.3/Tr 9.3/0.2 16.0/1.4 4.0/0.1 24.0/2.9 1.3/0.2 12.0/2.1 2,6/Tr 8.0/0.7 5.3/0.4 18.6/1.0 22.7/1.4 22.7/1.2 49.3/4.9 1.3/0.2 1.3/0.2 8.0/0.5 6.7/0.4 6.7/1.1 5.3/0.1 X 12.0/1.0 4.0/0.4 4.0/Tr 24.0/2.2 . 2 . 6/Tr 2.6/0.4 1.3/0.2 5.3/0.6 9.3/0.2 ■ X 1.3/Tr Appendix 19 continued. Forbs continued March April May * Eievaceim sp. H. oynoglossoides Hydpophyllvm aapitatwv Legiminosae Linvm pevenne Li-thospevmum vudeTole X Lloydia serotina 1.3/Tr Lomatium sp. L. GOUS * L. disseatim 2.7/Tr L. tvitevnatim 1.7 fir Lupinus sp. 20.0/0.3 Mertensia oblongifolia Mite t la breweri Monarda fistulosa 1.7 fir 6.7 fir Myosotis sylvatioa Osmorhiza occidental-is Oxytropis besseyi * 0. serioea Parnassia fimbriata Pedicularis sp. X P. bracteosa 5.3/1.1 * P. oontoTta 5.3/Tr P. vaoemosa * Penstemon sp. 4.0/Tr 10.0/0.3 1.3/Tr P. attenuatus 10.0/0.2 P. oonfevtus P. ellipticus X P. eriantherus P. nitidus P. procerus Phacelia hastata P. lyallii Phlox albomarginata June July August September 5.3/0.4 12.0/0.2 2 , 6/Tr 1.3/0.2 1.3/0.2 8.0/0.1 X 1.3/Tr 10.7/0.7 8.0/0.7 1.3/Tr 2. 6/Tr 1 . 3/Tr 6.7/0.5 4 . 0/Tr 2.6/0.4 X 2 . 6/Tr 12.0/14.6 8.0/0.1 1.3/0.2 1 . 3/Tr 2.7/6.6 14.7/2.9 2.6/0.2 X 4.0/0.1 1.3/Tr X 8.0/0.8 1.3/0.2 2.6/0.2 2.6/0.2 2 . 6/Tr 1 . 3/Tr X 4.0/0.4 14.7/0.2 2. 6/Tr 16.0/0.5 2.6/0.2 9.3/1.4 1.3/0.5 X 1 . 3/Tr 1.3/0.2 5.3/Tr 10.7/1.1 1.3/0.2 8.0/0.7 2.6/0.2 14.7/1.3 4.0/0.3 Appendix 19 continued. Forbs continued. March April May Physaria didymocarpa Polemoniion -pulchevTvrmm Polygonum bistortoides Potentilla sp. P. avguta 1 • 7/Tr P' divevsifolia P. gracilis 1 . 3/Tr 5.3/Tr P. ovina 1 • 3/Tr P. uniftora X * Ranunculus esdhsdholtzii E. glaberrimus * Saussurea densa Saxifraga sp. 5.3/Tr S. bronchialis 1.3/Tr S. oppositi folia 1.3/Tr 5. rhomboidea 1.3/Tr 1.3/Tr Sedun lanoeolatum 5.3/Tr 13. 3/Tr 48.0/0.3 S. rcseim 2 . 7/Tr Senecio sp. S. canus 18.3/0.2 6. 7/Tr S. integewimus * S. megaoephalus S. pauperaulus S. re sedif alius Sibbaldia procumbens ' 3. 3/Tr * Silene sp. Smelowskia calycina 2. 7/Tr * Smilacena raaemosa Solidago sp. * S. multiradiata 16.0/0.1 * S. spathulata June July August September 1.3/0.2 1.3/Tr 5.3/Tr X 2.6/0.4 16.0/0.2 8.0/0.2 4.0/Tr 4.0/0.2 9.3/0.2 6.7/0.7 2.7/0.4 4.0/0.4 4.0/0.2 1 . 3/Tr 49.3/1.3 2,6/Tr 2 . 6/Tr 12.0/0.8 16.0/0.4 44.0/3,2 5.3/0.1 4.0/0.4 6.7/0.1 38.6/0.7 1.3/0.2 1.3/Tr 8.0/0.3 2.6/0.5 X 21.3/2.8 6.7/0.6 X 16.0/1.6 8.0/0.1 1.3/0.2 1.3/0.2 1 . 3/Tr 6.7/0.5 8.0/0.7 18,6/2.0 16.0/1.7 14,7/0,3 13.3/0.3 4.0/0.4 2 . 6/Tr 1.3/0.2 5.3/0.8 34.7/3.4 9.3/1.2 Appendix 19 continued. Forbs continued. March April May Taraxacum off-iainate 1.7/Tr 2.7/Tr Tha.liatrvon oooidenbale 1 . 3/Tr Towns endia parry i * Valeriana sitahensis Veratrum viride * Veronica cusickii * Viola sp. 3. 3/Tr 1.3/Tr * V. adunoa F. orhioulata Woodsia sp. Zygadenus sp. 2. 6/Tr Unknown forbs 1.3/Tr 8.0/Tr Grasses * Agropyron sp. X 1.3/Tr A . oaninwn * A. spicatvm 36.7/2.2 12.0/Tr * A. trachyoaulim * Bromus sp . B. carinatus B. ciliatus B. inermis * Calamagrostis purpurascens 1.3/Tr * Carex sp. X 23.3/3.2 17.3/0.5 C. rupestris 29.3/0.5 Danthonia sp. D. intermedia ' 18.7/0.7 * Festuca idahoensis * F. ovina 29.3/1.3 28.3/1.1 5. 3/Tr * F. scabrella 1.3/Tr X 20.0/4.3 June July August September 2 . 6/Tr X 4 . 0/Tr 1.3/Tr 4 . 0/Tr 2 . 6/Tr 5.3/0.3 6.7/0.4 6.7/0.2 1.3/0.5 18.7/0.4 20,0/0.3 20.0/3.1 1 . 3/Tr 1 . 3/Tr 4 . 0/Tr X 2 . 6/Tr 2 . 6/Tr X 1.3/0.2 9.3/0.4 2 . 6/Tr 1,3/0.2 5.3/0.2 1.3/Tr 6.7/0.1 1 . 3/Tr 12.0/1.3 1 . 3/Tr 5.3/0.6 38.7/2.6 48. 0/7.9 4.0/0.7 9.3/0.5 8.0/0.2 9.3/0.3 12.0/2.1 18.7/2,4 4.0/0.3 9.3/0,2 8.0/0.2 X 6.7/0.3 2.6/0.4 18.7/1,7 4 , 0/Tr 22.6/1,6 8,0/0.9 13.3/1.2 6.7/0.7 2.6/0.2 1 . 3/Tr 1.2/1.3 10.7/1.1 42.7/5.7 Appendix 19 continued. Grasses continued. March April May June JulZ _ August ' September * Koelevia oristata - 2.6/Tr Luzula sp. _ ■ " 5.3/0.3 Phlewn alp^num ' ' — sp '"'x'^ 6.7/Tr 26.7/0.4 - 50.6/3.1 2.6/Tr X * P. ousioHi 12.0/Tr 4.0/Tr 6.7/Tr 1 . 3/Tr * P. fendleriana 1-3/Tr ^^^^^^^ 12.0/0.8 22.7/4.1 14.7/0.7 Sitanion hystrix ■ 1.3/Tr 13/02 SUpa oocidentalis e'.l/o'.A , Tr^setum sp. ■ . l.S/ir j.o/ 6 7/0 2 T. spiaatum 2.6/Tr 1.3/0.2 21.3/0.5 6.//U.Z Unknown j-.j/ix iT/no Unknown grass 4.0/Tr 13.3/0.1 25.3/0.9 .1.3/0.2 P. ^nter^or P. sandbergii 1/ X = Occurred on the site but not in sample frames. 2/ Frequency (occurrence in 15-2X5 dm frames) /average cover (average of cover categories in 15 frames). Given in percent. 3/ * Plant had been grazed upon, 'a/ Tr = Trace. Less than 0.1 percent. Appendix ^0 . Plant species known to have been fed upon at mountain goat feeding sites. March April May June July Aug Sept Trees Pinus albiaaulis Pinus flexilis Shrubs Aaerglabnm Aratostaphylos uva-tursi Berberis repens Juniperus communis J. horizon talis Rosa sp. Salix sp. Shepherdia canadensis Forbs X X X X X X X Agoseris glauca Anemone multifida A . pavvi flora Antennaria racemosa A . wnbrine I la Armica sp. A. cor di folia Artemesia miohauxiana Aster alpigenus A. foliaaeus A. integrif alius A. oooidentalis Astragalus bourgovii Bupleurum amerioanim CastelliQa sp. Castellijarhexi folia Cerastium vulgatwn Commandra umbellata Compositae Epilobium angustifolium Erigeron sp. E, humilus E. pumilus EriogonAum sp, E. umbellatim Fragaria virginiana Gaillardia aristata Gentiana oalyoosa Haplopappus sp. Eedysarum sp. H. sulphur escens X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X -145- Appendix 20 continued. March April May June July Aug Sept Forbs Eieracium sp. Lomativm aous Oxytropis sericea Pedioularis oontovta Penstemon sp. Phacslia hastata Potentilla arguta Ranunculus esahsaholtzii Saussurea densa Seneaio megaaephatus Sitene sp. Smilacena raaemosa Solidago mult-ivadiata S. spathulata Townsendia parryi Valeriana sitahensis Veronica ausiakii Viola sp. Unknovm X X X X X X X Grasses Agropyron sp. A. spicatum A. trachycaulwn Bromus sp. B. ciliatus Calamagrostis purpurascens Festuca idahoensis F. ovina F. sadbrelta Koeleria oristata Poa sp. P. alpina P. cusickii P. interior P. sandbergii Trisetum sp. T. spicatum Unknown X X X X X X X X X X X X X -146- Appendix 21. Plant genera which occurred in monthly mountain goat fecal samples. March April May June July Aug Sej Trees Abies X X Pinus X X X X X X X Populus X X Pseudotsugcc V A V A V A V A Shrubs Berbevis X X X Juniperus X X X X X X X Potentitla X X Prunus X Ribes X X X Salix X X X X X X X Shephevdia X X X X X X X Unknown X X X X X X X Grasses Agropyron X X X X X X X Agvostis X X X X Y A Y A Y A Y A Y A Y A Y A Calamagvostis X X X X Carex X X X X X X X Danthonia X Deschmipsia X X Festuoa X X X X X X X Phleim X X X X X X Poa X X X X X X X Stipa X X X Trisetm X X X X X X Unknown X X X X X X X Forbs Achillea X Androsaoe X X X X X X X Antennajcia X X X X X X Avenaria X X X X X X X Astragalus X X X X Besseya X Cruoiferae X X X Douglasia X X X X X X X Dryas X X X X Erigeron X X X X X Evigonim X X X Galiim X X -147- Appendix 21 continued. March April May June July Aug bept Forbs Hedysavwn Y A Y A Y A Eieraeiym V A Y A Y A Lomatium X Lupinus X X X X Penstemon Y A A. Phace li-a X X PnLox Y A X X Potentilla X X X X X Saxifraga X X Trifoliim X X Vicia X X Unknown X X X X X X X Unknown Root X X -148- x> !^ e (D ■P ft ^ • Co i-H CO S U o a « a CO <3 o 00 o s 00 4i . 1 ^ 00 LO :=) CO s ^ CO CO a +-> CO in o Ss oo bO CO < I-H (Nl to • 00 J3 u o CO « CO CO S 00 ^•^ ca • s • o • CO • C LD CO CO s "Xj ?s G a Cl,cn o r-i CO • 3 rS; If) CO ►-3 I-H CO 00 00 X) u o CO CO e • 00 CB o V CM 00 G^ ^ 4^ O -P • S • CO • C O o O O, 1^ a, fc4 a +i CM 00 c CO • CB I-H c;^ CM 1— 1 V) CO o U a CD CO CO CO a, o O 00 1— 1 ■v^ CM ^ • O « • S • Cu ■ c LO ?^ to 0 to 3 to 3 ■=5; CO 3 ca +i 00 CO ?S (M (N S rH CO ca • Co I— t e • 3 00 00 « • O '■O 33 a. o ?^ • C3>vO CO 3 (D in u • (M ^ • B^ ^ 00 w ctf CD a to m CO OS CO ^1 ■^^ ?^ TO t— 1 3 ■H ■4^ \o 00 •fi CM 00 Cfl CO s • a • CO LO to 3 to 0 ^ G I-H I-H 0 <3 a, 00 ca • co CO o ■=1: G CD to o to G ?i 3 -U> CM CO • CO Ct| r-t 03 3 Pi. s • CO o ?4 G §^ CO o 3 CO 00 fx, H ca \o ca o G CO o I V) cd u C3 AS 3 w s o u • O o a^ to 00 -149- Appendix 23 Interagency ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT Wildlife Monitoring/Evaluation Program Management Guidelines for Selected Species, Rocky Mountain Front Studies -150- Interagency Rocky Mountain Front Wildlife Monitoring/Evaluation Program Management Guidelines Grizzly Bear Elk Mountain Goat Mule Deer Bighorn Sheep Raptors Approved by: '/AM John D. Gorman, Forest Supervisor Date Lewis and Clark National Forest GlemFreeman, District Manager, ' Bureau of Land Management, Lewistown District Wayne R^Jewsffer, 'Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Daniel Vincent, Regional Supervisor, Montana Department Fish, Wildlife and Parks Date I Dsrte -151- Introduction The Interagency Rocky Mountain Front Wildlife Monitoring/Evaluation Program was initiated in 1980. A principal goal of this program was to sponsor study efforts; whereby wildlife management guidelines, based on sound scientific findings, could be developed to aid land managers in their planning of human activities along the Rocky Mountain Front. The original charter for this program specified that management guidelines were to be considered "interim" until five years of study had been incorporated into them. However, the guidelines developed thus far are currently being used as firm guidance by the involved agencies. Further, at the end of this five year period these guidelines should not be locked in concrete by the term "final". It is highly likely that studies will continue and additional findings will dictate new or revised guidelines. Therefore, these two terms will not be used and the management guideline development process and associated document are to be considered part of a dynamic planning process subject to periodic review and modification as additional study findings become available and as long as the need for them is present. In the event that on-going monitoring results in the need for a new guideline or the modification of an existing guideline, it can be submitted at anytime by the procedures described and on the form given on the last two pages of this document. The following management guidelines are based on the best information currently available. They are a result of current or recently completed studies on selected wildlife species. Field investigators conducting the studies have completed extensive literature reviews on the various species considered. The guidelines which have been formulated and presented in this document are not only the result of study findings and literature review, but incorporate the professional judgement of the technical personnel involved. Objective The need for management guidelines is predicated on management concerns involving the effects of existing and proposed land uses and human activities upon various wildlife species and their habitat. The objective of the develop- ment and application of management guidelines is to avoid or minimize the following effects of human related activities which may adversely impact some or all of the selected wildlife species being considered: A. Physical destruction of important wildlife habitat components. B. Human disturbance that would displace various wildlife species from important seasonal use areas. C. Increased direct human caused mortality. D. Increased stress due to higher human activity levels. E. Direct mortality or physical impairment resulting from environmental (chemical) contaminates. F. Increased wildlife/human interaction resulting from habitat intrusion or displacement. -152- Management Guidelines Management guidelines provide coordination measures designed to avoid or minimize the potential conflicts previously identified between human related activities and wildlife. Although many of the guidelines are applicable to a variety of human activities, some of them are specific to a single activity. Oil and gas exploration and development has received special emphasis due to the relatively high level of activity in recent years. As a result, some of the guidelines apply specifically to that activity. Approved management guidelines will be included in permits, contracts or other formal authorizations for human activities as applicable. Omissions or modifi- cations of applicable guidelines in such authorizations will be documented in an EA report or other appropriate document concerning the activity involved. Monitoring A majority of the radio tracking and habitat survey data collected to date has been baseline information including the identification of seasonal ranges, reproduction areas, breeding areas and migration corridors. Future studies will place increasing emphasis on the monitoring of effects of increased human activity levels, particularly those associated with oil and gas exploration, on the wildlife species being studied. The management guidelines presented in this document are only partially based on monitoring information collected during the current studies on the Rocky Mountain Front. An important consideration in further monitoring efforts will be to test and validate the guidelines as to their effectiveness and applicability. -153- PART A. General Management Guidelines The following general management guidelines are applicable coordination measures that will be considered when evaluating the effects of existing and proposed human activities in identified seasonally important habitats for a variety of wildl ife species. 1. Identify and evaluate for each project proposal the cumulative effects of all activities, both existing uses and other planned projects. Potential site specific effects of the project being analyzed are a part of the cumulative effects evaluation which will apply to all lands within a designated biological unit. A biological unit is an area of land which is ecologically similar and includes all of the yearlong habitat requirements for a sub-population of one or more selected wildlife species. 2. Avoid human activities or combinations of activities on seasonally important wildlife habitats which may adversely impact the species or reduce the habitat effectiveness. 3. Space concurrently active sei smographic lines at least nine (9) air miles apart to allow an undisturbed corridor into which wildlife can move when displaced. One line survey crew will be allowed to work between active lines in order to reduce the total time of activity in any one area. 4. Establish helicopter flight patterns of not more than one-half (1/^) mile in width along all sei smographic lines, between landing zones and the lines, and between landing zones and other operations, unless flying conditions dictate deviations due to safety factors. 5. Because helicopters produce a more pronounced behavioral reaction by big game and raptors than do fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters willmaintain a minimum altitude of 600 feet (183 meters) above ground level when flying between landing zones and work areas where landing zones are not located on seismic lines, unless species specific guidelines recommend otherwise (Hinman, H. , 1974; McCourt, K.H., et al 1974; Klein, D.R. , 1973; Miller, F.L. and A, Gunn, 1979). 6. Designate landing zones for helicopters in areas where helicopter traffic and associated human disturbances will have the minimum impact on wildlife populations. Adequate visual and/or topographic barriers should be located between landing zones and occupied seasonal use areas. 7. The use of helicopters instead of new road construction to accomplish energy exploration and development is encouraged. 8. Base road construction proposals on a completed transportation plan which considers important wildlife habitat components and seasonal use areas in relation to road location, construction period, road standards, seasons of heavy vehicle use^ road management requirements, etc. 9. Use minimum road and site construction specifications based on projected transportation needs. Schedule construction times to avoid seasonal use periods for wildlife as designated in the species specific guidelines. -154- 10. Locate roads, drill sites, landing zones, etc. to avoid important wildlife habitat components based on a site specific evaluation. 11. Insert "dog-legs" or visual barriers on pipelines and roads built through dense vegetative cover areas to prevent straight corridors exceeding one-forth (1/4) mile where vegetation has been removed (Stubbs, C.W. and B.J. Markham, 1979). 12. Roads which are not compatible with area management objectives and are no longer needed for the purpose for which they were built will be closed and reclaimed. Native plant species will be used whenever possible to provide proper watershed protection on disturbed areas. Wildlife forage and/or cover species will be utilized in rehabilitation projects where deemed appropriate. 13. Keep roads which are in use during oil and gas exploration and development activity closed to unauthorized use. Place locked gates and/or road guards at strategic locations to deter unauthorized use when activities are occurring on key seasonal ranges. 14. Impose seasonal closures and/or vehicle restrictions based on wildlife or , other resource needs on roads which remain open. ; 15. Bus crews to and from drill sites to reduce activity levels on roads. Shift changes should be scheduled to avoid morning and evening wildlife feeding periods. 16. Keep noise levels at a minimum by muffling such things as engines, genera- tors and energy production facilities. 17. Prohibit dogs during work periods. 18. Prohibit firearms during work periods or in vehicles traveling to and from work locations. 19. Seismographic and exploration companies should keep a daily log of activities. Items such as shift changes, shut down/start up times, major changes in noises or activity levels, and the location on the line where seismic crews are working should be recorded. -155- The species specific management guidelines which follow provide coordination measures necessary to protect important habitats or seasonal use areas for several wildlife species which were selected for intensive baseline surveys on the Rocky Mountain Front Study Area. Monitoring of the effects of human activities on these species and their habitats will continue to receive special study emphasis. Maps which delineate the seasonally important habitats for which timing restric- tions are specified have not been included in the management guideline document and are not available for general distribution. Copies of these maps are available for inspection at the offices of the four Agencies involved in the Rocky Mountain Front Wildlife Monitoring Program. These guidelines together with the "general management guidelines" will minimize, but not eliminate, the impacts of disturbances caused by human activities on these species. Species specific guidelines are currently available for grizzly bear, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer and raptors. -156- Mountain Goat The Montana Mountain Goat Investigations along the East Front of the Rocky Mountains, funded by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildife and Parks, the Lewis and Clark National Forest and the Allen Foundation, is the basis for formulating management guidelines (Thompson 1980; Tomasko 1980; Joslin 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981). Literature concerning wildlife (primarily mountain goats) and land use conflicts was also used in developing some of the guidelines. The guidelines are heavily oriented toward disturbance related to oil and gas activity since that is the primary activity of concern now, however, other activities which may influence mountain goats are also addressed. The following guidelines are based on historic information from this area and data collected duirng the last four years. These guidelines represent the best information now available. All previously mentioned "general management guidelines" are coordination measures that should be considered when evaluating human activities in mountain goat habitat. The following is adapted from the mountain goat investigations annual report (Joslin, 1984) and provides species specific guidelines which are applicable to a variety of human activities. 1. Avoid human activities in identified mountain goat habitat during the following seasonal use periods: A. Occupied yearlong mountain goat habitat 1) Kidding - nursery areas -- - May 1 - July 15 2) Breeding areas November 1 - December 31 3) Winter range ■ October 15 - May 15 B. Suitable low occupancy mountain goat habitat (Appropriate surveys of suitable mountain goat habitat will be made by a wildlife biologist to determine whether goats are present prior to Initiation of a planned activity. If goat use is documented, the stratification will be changed to occupied yearlong mountain goat habitat and the listed guidelines will apply. If mountain goat use is not documented, then guidelines listed for transitional areas will apply). C. Transitional mountain goat habitat (The area between occupied yearlong habitat through which mountain goats travel. Timing restrictions apply to exploratory drilling, road construction and maintenance, timber harvest, off-road and trail vehicle travel, and any other mechanized activity which extends beyond one week in duration). October 15 - December 31 and May 1 - June 30 2. Mineral licks used by mountain goats should have a no surface occupancy stipulation for a one-mile radius around the site (Joslin, 1984). 3. New mineral licks within mountain goat habitat should not be established without considering the safety of goats (Rideout, 1974). -157- 4. Establish helicopter flight patterns at least one mile from mountain goat mineral licks during the May 1 - July 31 period (Joslin, 1984). 5. Restrict use of roads and trails which cross or come to within one-half mile of a mountain goat mineral lick to nonmotorized use during the May 1 - July 31 period. 6. Avoid constructing wells, pipelines or roads within 1 mile of occupied yearlong habitat. 7. Establish flight patterns in advance when activities require the use of helicopters. Flight patterns should be located to avoid seasonally impor- tant mountain goat habitat during the use periods designated above. 8. Exploratory well drilling should not occur within occupied habitat. Exploratory drilling on adjacent sites within Suitable and/or Transitional mountain goat habitat should be staggered to provide a disturbance-free area for displaced mountain goats. 9. Livestock use of mineral licks used by mountain goats should occur after July 1 or pasture use staggered so that adjacent licks are not used simultaneously by livestock. 10. In occupied yearlong habitat, livestock grazing should be restricted to the period July 1 - October 15„ 11. The level of livestock use in occupied habitat should not be increased, and grazing of domestic sheep should not occur. 12. No suppression of insects and disease should occur in occupied habitat unless adjacent resource values are threatened. 13. Timber harvest and road construction within occupied mountain goat habitat should be closely coordinated with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to address the needs of mountain goats. -158- (^oqtatialJepartnieift qf Tisli^'WUdUfe (Si TarH^ 1420 East Sixth Avenue Helena, MT 59620