639.9 F2sbw 1977 SARPY BASIN WILDLIFE ECOLOGY STUDY m Montana Department of Fish and Game sponsored by Cormorant Corporation April 1977 ^'^'^2002 'Montana sr^> Peter R. Martin^ Planning Ecologist Environment and Information Division 0864 0015 3780 5 IR E C E i ¥ E O TABLE OF CONTENTS ^^'^^ ^ ^ 1977 ENVIRONMENT,'!- QUALITY. COL'NCiU Page List of Tables 11 List of Figures iv Introduction 1 Procedures 1 Study Area 2 Location 3 Vegetation Characteristics 3 Climate 3 Wildlife Ecology 5 Mule Deer 5 Distribution 5 Population Characteristics 9 Seasonal Use of Soil Associations l4 Seasonal Use of Vegetation Types 17 Seasonal Activity 19 Seasonal Use of Topography 19 Seasonal Use of Slopes 22 Seasonal Use of Exposure 24 Pronghorn Antelope 26 Distribution 26 Population Characteristics 26 Seasonal Use of Soil Associations 30 Seasonal Use of Vegetation Types 35 Seasonal Activity 37 Seasonal Use of Topography 37 Seasonal Use of Slope 40 Seasonal Use of Exposure 42 White-tailed Deer 42 Coyotes 44 Distribution 44 Seasonal Use of Soil Associations 44 Seasonal Use of Vegetation Types 49 Seasonal Activity 51 Seasonal Use of Topography 51 Seasonal Use of Slope 54 Seasonal Use of Exposure 54 Predator-Prey Relationships 57 Prairie Grouse 59 Distribution 59 Population Characteristics 59 Use of Soil Associations 62 Sharptail Banding Study 62 Ring-necked Pheasant 65 Merrlam's Turkey 65 Summary 65 Literature Cited 69 Appendix 70 1 List of Tables Table Page 1. Mule deer, antelope and coyote aerial observations per hour In 1975 and 1976 7 2. Pall 1976 mule deer population characteristics In the Sarpy Creek drainage 8 3. Mule deer population characteristics in the Sarpy Creek drainage from 1973 through 1976 10 4. Seasonal use of soil associations by mule deer 15 5. Seasonal use of vegetation types by mule deer I8 6. Seasonal activity of mule deer 20 7. Seasonal use of topography by mule deer 21 8. Seasonal slope usage by mule deer 23 9. Seasonal use of exposure by mule deer 25 10. 1976 antelope population characteristics in the Sarpy Creek drainage 28 11. Antelope population characteristics in the Sarpy Creek drainage from 197^ through 1976 31 12. Seasonal use of soil associations by antelope 33 13. Seasonal use of vegetation types by antelope 36 14 . Seasonal activity of antelope 38 15. Seasonal use of topography by antelope 39 16. Seasonal slope usage by antelope 4l 17. Seasonal use of exposure by antelope ^3 18. Seasonal use of soil association by coyotes 47 19. Seasonal use of vegetation types by coyotes 50 20. Seasonal activity of coyotes 52 21. Seasonal use of topography by coyotes 53 11 Page 22. Seasonal slope usage by coyotes 55 23. Seasonal use of exposure by coyotes 56 24. Coyote and mule deer observations In the Sarpy Creek drainage during 1975 and 1976 58 25. Prairie grouse breeding ground data 60 26. Sharptail dancing ground distribution by soil association 63 27. Ring-necked pheasant crowing count survey data in Sarpy Creek and adjacent drainages 66 Appendix 28. Location of prairie grouse breeding ground and male birds attending in 1974, 1975 and 1976 70-71 29. Climatological data from the Hys-ham 25 SSE weather station during the third year of the study 72 30. Sharp-tailed grouse neckbanded in the Sarpy Creek and Colstrip vicinities in 1976 73-74 ill List of Figures Figures Page 1. Sarpy Basin wildlife ecology study area 4 2. Mule deer and white-tailed deer observations in the Sarpy Creek study area in 1976 6 i 3. Fall mule deer population structure (percent bucks, does and fawns-bar graph) and production (fawns per 100 adults - line graph) in the Sarpy Creek drainage from 1973 through 1976 11 4. Mule deer and white-tailed deer production statistics. 12 5. Mule deer harvest statistics 13 6. Histogram of chi-square values for mule deer seasonal distribution by soil association (197^-1976) l6 7. Antelope observations in the Sarpy Creek study area in 1976 27 8. Summer and fall antelope population structure (percent bucks, does and fawns - bar graph) and production (fawns per 100 adults - line graph) in the Sarpy Creek drainage from 1973 through 1976 29 9. Antelope harvest statistics 32 10. Histogram of chi-square values for antelope seasonal distribution by soil association (197^-1976) 3^1 11. White-tailed deer harvest statistics 45 12. Coyote observations in the Sarpy Creek study area in 1976 46 13. Histogram of chi-square values for coyote seasonal distribution by soil association in 1976 48 14. Prairie grouse breeding grounds, pheasant crow count routes and turkey observations (1974-1976) in the Sarpy Creek study area 6l iv INTRODUCTION During the past year, the Crow Tribe cancelled all coal leases in the Sarpy Creek area except those held by Westmore- land Resources. Also, Montana Power Company completed con- struction of its Colstrip to Broadview 230 kilovolt trans- mission line. This line, with its steel towers, can be converted to 500 kilovolts to accommodate electricity produced by proposed generation units 3 and 4. Westmoreland's "Absaloka" mine continued operation, producing approximately 4 million tons of coal which were transported over Burlington Northern's Sarpy Creek spur line. Construction of a new drag line is scheduled for 1977 along with extraction of over 4.5 million tons of coal. The Montana Highway Department has completed a substantial portion of its engineering survey for the new Sarpy Creek road. Construction will begin on the Bighorn County section in the spring of 1977. This report contains information primarily from 1976 field observation with comparisons of trend data from the beginning of the study. Mule deer {OdocoA,lzai fiem-cona4), pronghorn antelope {knt-Ltocapi a amzKlcanoL) , coyote {Canli> loitn.an&) and sharp-tailed grouse ( Ped-coceie^ pha&i.dYizttait) received the most attention. The continuing objectives of the study, in addition to obtaining basic population data for the resident species, are: (1) To determine the impact of existing and future surface mining operations on wildlife resources in the area. (2) To ensure that fish and wildlife habitat values received full recognition in any surface reclamation efforts that follow surface mining operations. (3) To Investigate possible modifications, additions or innovations in the surface mining reclamation processes to avoid unnecessary loss of wildlife habitat and develop techniques and procedures to enhance habitat through reclamation. PROCEDURES ' The first two years of the study were devoted to familiari- zation with the vegetational composition, soil types, physical aspects and the historical and existing wildlife species population characteristics (Martin 1975, 1976). The objective of the third year of study was to continue monitoring population characteristics of the primary species. Coyotes were Included with mule deer and antelope in the year long data gathering process. Observations of wildlife were made during low-level fixed-wing aerial flights. The entire area was covered once each season. A north-south flight following section lines at 1/2 mile intervals was used during each of the four seasons: winter (December 1975-Pebruary 1976), spring (March 1976-May 1976), summer (June 1976-August 1976) and fall (September 1976-November 1976). A helicopter was used on two occasions during the winter period. Observations made during vehicular surveys and while afoot were also recorded. At each observation the vegetation type being used, the activity, the type of terrain, the slope and exposure and the time of day were recorded. Each observation was plotted on a 1/2 inch to the mile map to the nearest quarter section. Starting with the fall season each observation was located on U.S.G.S. 7 '5 minute series topographic maps to obtain elevation data. Weather conditions at the time of observation were also recorded. Mule deer, antelope and coyote observations were overlain by a soils association transparency to determine seasonal soil association usage. A chi-square (X2) value was calculated for each soil type in all seasons along with the yearly total to determine if there were any statistically significant preferences. The formula x2=4d2 (Snedecor and Cochran 1967), n where d = the absolute value of the deviation between the number observed and the number expected and n = the total number observed, was used primarily because of its simplicity. The fact that this formula is less sensitive than others is not necessarily bad. Most biological data are not exact enough to readily lend themselves to extensive statistical evaluation. A less sensitive comparison greatly reduces the potential of calling a relationship significant when it really is not. Histograms showing the distribution of chi-square values were drawn to show the comparison between Significant and other relationships . STUDY AREA The location, physiography and climate, edaphic charact- eristics and vegetation types of the Sarpy Creek study area were discussed in the two previous reports (Martin 1975, 1976). Some additions have been made during the past year. Location The study area (figure 1) was divided into three subunits. The two lower units were named Bear Creek and Horse Creek after prominent side drainages. The upper unit was named after Westmoreland's "Absaloka" coal mine. The subdivisions were made to facilitate comparisons of various wildlife population characteristics within the Sarpy drainage. Boundaries were arbitrarily placed to make the units approx- imately equal in area, to maintain rough vegetative type Integrity and to follow easily identifiable terrain features. Vegetation Characteristics A new vegetation subtype was differentiated. It was the snowberry subtype and occurred within the larger ponderosa pine type. It was found primarily in coulee bottoms, creek- bottoms, north slopes and other mesic sites. Snowberry {Sympko^^cafipo6 aZbu^] was the primary shrub species. Climate During the past study year 1^.96 inches of precipitation were recorded at the Hysham 25 SSE weather station (appendix table 29). This is 0.56 inch less than what fell last year and 3.67 inches less than the first year of study. Like most other areas in the western United States, Sarpy Creek may be on the way to at least moderate drought conditions. The 1975- 1976 winter was very severe in the study area. During the three winter months 47.3 inches of snowfall were measured. This compares to 22.2 inches In 1975 and 27.7 inches in 197^. When the November 1975 snowfall is included there were 66.7 Inches of snow. This is a l89 percent increase from the 23-1 inches that fell during the same four months the previous year. Temperatures were not as cold with 26 days in which the maximum temperature remained below freezing. There were 32 such days in 1975- Spring was mild and dry with 3.63 Inches of moisture. There were 5.58 inches the previous spring. Summer was very hot and continued dry. In spite of one storm which dumped I.06 inches of rain in June, there were only 5*37 inches of rain in the 1976 summer months. There were 6.I8 and 3.39 Inches recorded in 1974 and 1975 summers, respectively. Temperatures were above 90 degrees Farenheit 39 days in 1976 compared to 34 days in 1974 and only 23 days in 1975. Fall, the Montana season of greatest variability as evidenced by the extremes of 96° and -24° in 1976, continued dry. Only 3.21 inches of moisture were recorded -3- Figure 1. Sarpy Basin wildlife ecology study area. -4- compared to 4.18 and 4.03 Inches in the falls of 1974 and 1975, respectively. WILDLIFE ECOLOGY Mule deer, pronghorn antelope and coyotes received year-long attention. Sharp-tailed grouse, sage grouse {Ciintn.oce,n.cu.6 un.ophailanU'i)) and rlngnecked pheasant {Pka^Zanix-!) colck'iau&) observations were emphasized during the spring breeding season. White-tailed deer (Odocollzui, vlfiginZana) and Merriam's turkey gallopavo mzn.filciml) sitings were made Incidentally throughout the year. Mule Deer During 1976, l4l7 mule deer were observed in 333 groups. This compares with l467 mule deer in 301 observations in 1975 (Martin 1976). These total figures seem to indicate a relatively stable mule deer population. Examination of numbers of mule deer observed per unit of effort, in this case hours of fixed-wing aerial survey (table 1), suggest a different conclusion. Summer observations were similar in 1975 and 1976 with Just over 6 deer per hour observed. However, a higher intensity search was made in 1976 with flight lines 1/2 mile apart compared to 1 mile separations in 1975- One- half mile separations were utilized during both fall periods. Thirty-six mule deer were observed per hour in 1975 while only 18.5 were observed in 1976. These figures indicate a possible population decrease. Distribution Seasonal mule deer observations are shown in figure 2. The basic pattern of movement from the ridges and plateaus of winter to the creekbottoms in spring and summer followed by fall dispersement was generally observed again in 1976. Based on the number observed in each of the three subunits during the fall aerial survey (table 2), there is an equal distribution of mule deer over the entire study area. Inclusion of vehicular observations moves the Horse Creek subunit total from the lowest to the highest. Winter observations were centered in the east-central portion of the Absaloka subunit and in the north-central portion of the Horse Creek subunit. Deer in these winter concentration areas were observed from a helicopter. Harsh early winter conditions apparently forced deer to congregate -5- Figure 2. Mule deer and white-tailed deer observations In the Sarpy Creek study area In 1976. Table 1. Mule deer. antelope and coyote aerial observations per hour in 1975 and 1976. Observations Observations Per Hour Season Hours 1./ Mule Deer Antelope Coyotes Mule Deer Antelope n n V 0 1 p R Summer 7.9 49 197 3 6.2 24.9 0.4 Fall 15.8 569 235 30 36.0 14 .9 1.9 1975 23.7 618 432 33 26.1 18.2 1.4 Winter 11.4 139 60 Lli . d 5.3 1.8 ■102/ 202 0 6 40 4 0 X , d Spring 15. 9 300 219 15 18.9 13.8 0 Q Summer 18.1 111 318 15 6.1 17.6 0.8 Pall 20.3 375 247 46 18.5 12.2 2.3 1976 65.7 3/ 925 844 97 14.1 12.8 1.5 1/ 2/ 3/ Hours of fixed-wing flight. Helicopter hours (excludes ferry time) Excludes helicopter flights Table 2. Fall 1976 mule deer population characteristics in the Sarpy Creek drainage. -, / Fawns: Bucks Population Structure {%) Sub-Unit Method-^/ Bucks Does Fawns Total 100 Does 100 Adults 1 .DO does Bucks Does Fawns Bear Creek A 15 68 44 127 65 53 22 12 54 35 V 6 22 7 35 32 25 27 17 63 20 T 21 90 51 162 57 46 23 13 56 31 Horse Creek A 12 70 35 117 50 43 17 10 60 30 V 12 51 30 93 59 48 24 13 55 32 T 24 121 65 210 54 45 20 11 58 31 Absaloka A 9 64 58 131 91 79 l4 7 49 44 Sarpy Study A 36 202 137 375 68 58 18 10 54 37 Area V 18 73 37 128 51 41 25 14 57 29 T 54 275 174 503 63 51 20 11 55 35 1/ A - aerial survey observations V - vehicular survey observations T - total observations 2/ All percentages rounded to nearest whole number more than normal this year. This, followed by very warm weather in mid- January, made deer difficult to find during the flxed-wlng aerial survey. Mule deer observations per hour of flight (table 1) were considerably higher with the helicopter (40.4) than with the super cub (12.2). Population Characteristics The trend toward lower fawn production continued in 1976 with 63 fawns per 100 does (table 3) observed during the fall survey. The percentage of adult females Increased to 55 percent (figure 3) while the fawn portion dropped to 35 percent. Mule deer bucks increased slightly from 10 to 11 percent of the population. The fawn per 100 adult ratio which had been stable dropped from 60 in 1975 to 51 in 1976. Examination of the three subunits (table 2) shows the Absaloka unit had 91 fawns per 100 does. That is good fawn production (Eustace 1974). The Bear Creek unit had 65 fawns per 100 does (aerial survey) followed by the Horse Creek unit with 50. These are fair and poor, respectively. Total observations indicate poor production with 57 and 54 fawns per 100 doe ratios for the two units. The reason for the difference between the Absaloka unit and the other two units is not evident at this time. Eustace (1977) reports that fish and game hunting units 720 and 722 had 54 and 75 fawns per 100 does in 1976. Both of these units, as well as the Sarpy Creek study area with 63 fawns per 100 does, were below the 8I fawns per 100 does figure for all of Region 7- Hunting unit 722 has registered a sharp rise in fawn production since 1973 (figure 4), Increasing from 23 fawns per 100 adults to 73 fawns per 100 adults in 1976. Unit 720 production has remained stable near 46 fawns per 100 adults all four years. Production in the Sarpy drainage remained above these figures during the four year period except for unit 722 in 1976. Figure 5 shows mule deer harvest figures from 1956 through 1975- Unit 722 appears to have leveled off while 720 Increased slightly, as did the entire Region 7 kill. The 1976 harvest figures, which are not yet compiled, will reflect the change from two deer, either sex to one deer, bucks only hunting. The total number of mule deer harvested will probably decrease as a substantial reduction in license sales accompanied the change in regulations and a license fee increase. A decreasing production figure, which the Sarpy Creek deer herd exhibits, is treated biologically by increasing harvest. The production capability of a deer herd is lowered -9- Table 3. Fall mule deer population characteristics in the Sarpy Creek drainage from 1973 through 1976. Year 1/ Fawns : Bucks : Population Structure (fo) Bucks Does Fawns Total 100 Does 100 Adults 100 Does Bucks Does Fawns 1973 2/ 8 21 18 47 863/ 62 38 17 45 38 1974 31 104 80 215 77 59 30 14 48 37 1975 69 364 260 693 71 60 19 10 53 37 1976 54 275 174 503 63 51 20 11 55 35 1/ Calculations based on observations made during the fall season (September, October and November ) . 2/ Based on observations of Stephen J. Knapp, biologist, Montana Department of Fish and Game. All others observed by author. 2/ All percentages rounded to nearest whole number. lOOr 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 1973 1974 62 O- 59 -O 1975 60 17 45 38 14 48 37 10 53 37 1976 n 55 35 BDF BDF BDF BDF Number Observed 47 215 693 503 Figure 3. Fall mule deer population structure (percent bucks, does and fawns-bar graph) and production (fawns per 100 adults - line graph) in the Sarpy Creek drainage from 1973 through 1976. -11- 100- < 80 I 60 Z I 40 20 \ / ^ / MULE DEER Region 7 o Unit 720 O- Unlt 722 □-- WHITETAIL DEER Region 7 ^- -o -o ■□ ^ \ / V J. J L 1960 65 70 Figure 4. Mule deer and white-tailed deer production statistics.. J L 75 ni— I— J I ' ' I I I I I I— I I I 1 1 1 J 1 1 " 1956 60 65 70 75 Figure 5. Mule deer harvest statistics. when the herd becomes too large for Its habitat to maintain the general good health of the herd. The Increasing percentage of does in the herd will only contribute to the potential for increasing the population. Seasonal Use of Soil Associations Mule deer usage of the six different soil types found in the study area is shown by season In table 4. The Balnville-Mldway/Thedalund-Mldway (B-M/T-M) association continued to support the most deer with 73 percent of 1976 group observations. Seventy-five percent of the mule deer observed, a significantly (p=.05) higher than expected percentage, were on the B-M/T-M association. The Pierre- Lismas (P-L) and Wanetta-Hesper (W-H) associations had significantly fewer deer than expected. In 1975 the P-L and Wayden-Regent (W-R) associations demonstrated negative preference by mule deer (Martin 1976). Figure 6 shows the distribution of chi-square values for mule deer usage of soil associations during 197^, 1975 and 1976. Only those values with a probability of a higher value occurring less than 5 percent of the time were labeled as significant. The left portion of the graph approaches a random distribution pattern. The right side, which shews an Increase in the number of chi-square values with low to very low probabilities of greater values. Indicates that mule deer are deflninitely selecting for and against certain soil associations. Winter : There was more diverse usage of soil types in 1976 with 5 of the 6 types receiving some use. Last winter mule deer used only 3 associations. The B-M/T-M sustained by far the most deer with 87 percent of the total observed. It had only 75 percent in 1975. The P-L and Flasher-Balnville/ Nelson-Alice (F-B/N-A) associations were the only two which deer selected against in significant numbers. Spring : This was the only season in which mule deer were observed in all six soil associations. The B-M/T-M association had the highest percentage of observations (65) but it was not significant. The only association with significant usage was F-B/N-A. At l4 percent, it registered a significant positive deviation from the expected number of mule deer observed. Summer : Again the B-M/T-M association received sign- ificant positive usage with 83 percent of the total observed. No other association received usage significantly different from the expected. Five of the six associations received usage, as it was last summer. In 1976 no observations were made in the W-H association while the W-R association had no observed usage in 1975. -14- Table 4. Seasonal use of soil associations by mule deer. Winter Sprin g Summer Fall Yearly Total Soil Association '75 40- -'76 / 341 i/ 1976 100-424 1976 72-149 1976 121- 503 1976 333-1417 1 . wanetta-Hesper (T) 2/ 13/ 2 4/ - - tr5/ iN d . Pierre-Llsmas (T) 5 2N6/ 3 3 6 5 1 p 0 5 N 5 3. Flasher -Bainville (T) / Nelson-Alice (B) o d 1 13 14P 4 4 6 6 7 7 4. Bainville-Midway (T)/ Thedalund-Midway (B) 80 87P 63 65 85 83^ 73 73^ 73 75^ 5. Wayden-Regent (B) 2 1 5 4 3 5 4 2 4 3 6. Wibaux-Thedalund- Spearman (B) 10 9 15 12 3 3 10 11 10 10 1/ Number of group observations - total observed. 2/ (T) - Treasure County; (B) - Bighorn County. 3_/ Percent of group observations. V Percent of total. 5/ tr= Trace; a percent less than 0.5. 6/ N = negative usage significant at p=.05. P = positive usage significant at p=.05. Figure 6. Histogram of chl-square values J'or mule deer' seasonal distribution by soli association (1974-1976). -16- Fall : The fall usage pattern was very similar to summer. Mule deer were observed in the same five associations, the W-H being absent. The B-M/T-M association was again the only one with a significant deviation. Although its percentage dropped 10 points to 73, it remained positively significant . Seasonal Use of "Vegetation Types The ponderosa pine vegetation type continues to be the most important to mule deer. Over 50 percent of all group observations were made in this type (table 5). Usage Increased slightly in the ponderosa pine type during 1976. Forty-seven percent of the mule deer were observed In this type compared to 44 percent in 1975 (Martin 1976). Usage of the remaining types in 1976 was also very similar to the 1975 pattern. Both agricultural and sagebrush types had 17 percent of mule deer observations compared to 19 and 17 percent, respectively, in 1975. Native creekbottom and grassland types, with 10 and 8 percent of the mule deer usage in 1976 and 12 and 7 percent in 1975, received the least total usage. Winter : Only 62 percent of the mule deer observations were made in the ponderosa pine type. This is down considerably from the 84 percent figure in 1975. The decline was most noticable in usage of skunkbush and sagbrush subtypes. Usage of the grassland type increased from 1 percent in 1975 to 15 percent in 1976. Perhaps the large amounts of snow forced deer away from their preferred habitat, the various browse fields near the protective cover of ponderosa pine trees, to windblown ridges and hilltops in search for forage. Spring : Usage of vegetation types revealed a pattern unlike any observed in previous years of this study. Ponderosa pine usage, 43 percent, increased substantially for the 25 percent observed in 1975 but was far below the 70 percent figure observed in 1974. Mule deer use observed in the sagebrush type has increased each of the three years going from l6 percent in 1974 (Martin 1975) to 29 percent in 1976. The numbers of deer utilizing agricultural types were quite high in 1975, with 32 percent, and relatively low the other two years, 6 percent in 1974 and 11 percent this year, 1976. Summer : Usage of sagebrush and grassland types declined from spring levels while creekbottom, agricultural and ponderosa pine levels of usage increased. This pattern reflects the normal situation in this area. That is, as the upland areas began to dry up and the vegetation desiccates. -17- Table 5. Seasonal use of vegetation types by mule deer. Winter Spring Summer Fall Yearly '75-'76 1976 1976 1976 Total Vegetation Types 40 - 34li/ 100 -424 72- 149 121- 503 333- l4l7 Q VI f-i -? v-i /"I jLuriuerosa, pme 232./ c D 5 10 13 14 10 13 12 ± c. Q 9 1 U 14 11 Q 0 7 10 10 Grassland 5 7 15 13 4 3 7 7 9 8 Skunkbush 18 13 7 6 11 9 9 10 10 9 Juniper 5 8 4 2 1 1 2 3 ^ Y~i /^T»r ^ 10 "yO T 7 ofiuw Uc""y r- 5 7 10 11 10 0 8 7 6 Total Ponderosa Pine 78 62 46 43 50 47 ^9 41 52 47 Sagebrush 8 10 27 27 14 17 12 10 16 16 3 3 3 ~ ~ 2 1 Total Sagebrush 8 10 30 29 17 20 12 10 18 17 Grassland 5 15 7 10 4 5 2 2 4 8 odgcurusn 1 2 — — tr4/ 1 c 0 0 0 4 5 2 2 4 0 0 Cottonwood 2 2 4 2 -3 p C p Shrub 5 8 3 2 7 9 10 12 7 8 Total Creekbottom 5 8 5 4 11 13 12 15 9 10 Ponderosa pine 5 5 5 6 1 1 4 8 4 6 Sagebrush/grassland 2 3 1 1 1 1 Creekbottom 4 2 17 14 21 24 12 10 Total Agricultural 5 5 11 11 18 15 26 32 17 17 1/ Number of group observations - total observed 2/ Percent of group observations 3/ Percent of total \/ tr= trace; a percentage less than .05 mule deer move to the mesic creekbottoms and associated agricultural fields, and to the wetter north slopes and coulee bottoms within the ponderosa pine type. Fall : Ponderosa pine usage was very high at 4l percent of the mule deer observed. This compares with the 8 percent observed to use the ponderosa pine type In 197^ (Martin 1975). Thirty-two percent of the mule deer were observed In agricultural types, 24 percent In the creekbottom subtype. Only 21 percent of the observations were on agricultural types In 1975 (Martin 1976). Usage of the creekbottom vegetation type was 15 percent In 1976, down from 21 percent In 1975 and 58 percent In 1974. Seasonal Activity Table 6 contains the activities of mule deer at the moment of observation. As In the past, most deer were observed standing or feeding. This reveals the observability bias toward those vegetation types, slopes, exposures and topographic features which are used as feeding grounds. Eighty-one percent of the deer observed yearlong were in these two categories. Most deer were observed feeding during the spring season, 54 percent. This is down from 74 percent observed during the 1975 spring season. Mule deer observed lying down were only 7 percent of the total, down considerably from the 17 percent figure observed last year. Seasonal Use of Topography Usage of topographic features by mule deer is shown in table 7. The yearly pattern is basically similar to that observed last year (Martin 1975), with hillside, creekbottom and plateau usage being the most important at 34, 21 and 12 percent, respectively. Winter : Mule deer were observed in all topographic types. Hillsides and ridges, with 25 and 21 percent, respectively, had the most usage. Plateau and coulee head usage followed closely at 19 and l6 percent, respectively. Valley floor (9 percent) and creekbottom (8 percent) usage increased considerably over 1975 when no deer were observed in the two types. Spring: Hillside observations increased to 40 percent, the highest for any type during any season in 1976. The combined usage of creekbottoms, coulee bottoms and valley floors Increased from l8 percent in winter to 40 percent -19- Table 6. Seasonal activity of mule deer. Activity Winter '75-'76 . 40 - 3^1- Sprlng 1976 100 - 424 Summer 1976 72 - 149 Fall 1976 121 - 503 Yearly Total 333 -1417 Standing Running Lying Feeding 482/ 45 3/ 18 9 12 8 22 37 41 10 6 43 33 8 6 54 54 11 6 29 54 13 5 28 41 40 21 17 12 8 26 35 45 15 9 32 41 12 7 40 \/ Number of group observations - total observations 2/ Percent of group observations 3,/ Percent of total Table 7. Seasonal use of topography by mule deer. Winter Summer Fall Topography '75-'76 . 40 - 34li/ 1976 100 - 424 1976 72- 149 1976 _L X — Total 333-1417 Hillside 252/ 253/ 38 38 38 34 Rid ge 32 21 2 1 4 5 8 6 8 8 Plateau 20 19 14 18 7 4 6 5 10 12 Coulee Hd. 12 16 7 7 4 4 4 6 Coulee Btm. 2 1 14 13 10 13 7 5 9 7 Valley Fir. 2 9 16 19 6 3 6 5 8 10 Creekbottom 5 8 9 8 29 29 32 38 21 21 !_/ Number of group observations - total observed 2_/ Percent of group observations 3/ Percent of total during spring. This Is also an Increase from the 25 percent observed utilizing the same three features in the 1975 spring season. Plateau usage remained stable at l8 percent but usage of ridges and coulee heads declined from 37 percent during winter to only 1 percent. These two types received simllarlly low usage in 1975 with 4 percent of the mule deer observed. Summer: Again deer were observed on all features with hillsides maintaining preeminence at 38 percent. Creekbottom usage increased to 29 percent from the 8 percent observed during both winter and spring seasons. Plateau usage dropped from 18 percent in spring to 4 percent in summer as deer left the jeric uplands for greener pastures. Fall: Hillside usage remained steady at 36 percent, an Increase from the 29 percent observed during the 1975 fall season (Martin 1976). Creekbottom usage was the greatest with 38 percent of the total observed. It also received the most usage in 1975 at 35 percent. The five remaining features received virtually Identical usage as percentages ranged from 4 to 6 among them. Seasonal Use of Slope Of the yearly total of l4l7 mule deer observations, 36 percent were seen on flat land (table 8). This represents a slight Increase over the 28 percent figure observed last year (Martin 1975). Usage of steep slopes remained low with 15 percent of the total. Winter: Steep slopes received their greatest use of the year, 33 percent, during the winter season. Although use of flat areas increased from 1 percent in 1975 to 26 percent in 1976, the combined usage of flat and gentle slope Increased only 6 percent, from 42 percent in 1975 to 48 percent in 1976. The steeper slopes continued to receive the most usage by mule deer during the winter months. Spring: Use of lowland areas is apparent as flat and gentle slopes accounted for 60 percent of the observed mule deer. Use of steep slopes declined from 33 percent in winter to only 9 percent during spring time. The 39 percent figure was the highest recorded for gentle slope usage during the year. Summer: The pattern of usage was markedly different from that observed last year when all slopes received similar usage. -22- Table 8. Seasonal slope usage by mule deer. KJ i CLU. _L t; 1 1 L* Winter '75-'76 *-T \J Qlil 1/ jH J — Spring 1976 1 nn - " L. Summer 1976 72 - 149 Fall 1976 A. C- M Yearly Total 1417 Plat 252/ 263/ 21 22 36 33 50 55 35 36 Gentle 22 22 37 38 17 11 16 13 23 23 Medium 28 19 30 32 40 52 20 21 28 27 Steep 25 33 12 9 7 3 13 11 13 15 1/ Number of group observations - total observed 2_/ Percent of group observations 3/ Percent of total In 1976 medium slopes received 52 percent, the highest figure recorded for that category, while only 3 percent were observed on steep slopes. Flat areas had 33 percent of the total. Fall: The trend away from higher altitude and steeper slopes begun during the summer season continued as usage of flat lands reached its yearly high with 55 percent of the fall observations. Sixty-eight percent of the mule deer were observed on flat and gentle slopes. Usage of steep slopes increased from 3 percent in summer to 11 percent in fall but was still relatively low. Seasonal Use of Exposure The yearly distribution of mule deer throughout the study area is well exemplified by their usage of exposures in 1976 (table 9). Only two exposures fell outside the 9-11 percent range. They were the northwest (3 percent) and southeast (4 percent) exposures. There was considerable seasonal variation this year due to an exceptionally hard winter and a relatively dry summer and fall. Winter : Only 20 percent of the mule deer observed were on north exposures (N, NE and NW) . This compares to 42 percent observed on the same three exposures the previous year (Martin 1975). The large snow fall (appendix table 29) undoubtedly accounts for this pattern. The south exposures (S, SE and SW) had Hi percent, virtually the same as last year. The usage of flat lands increased from 1 percent in 1975 to 26 percent in I976. Spring : The spring pattern was very similar to that observed in 1975. North and south slopes received nearly identical usage, 5 percent each in 1975 and l4 and 15 percent, respectively, in 1976. East verses west slope usage mirrored that of last year. West slopes received l4 percent usage in winter decreasing to 6 percent in spring. East slopes received no usage in winter increasing to 20 percent during the spring season. This same flip-flop and degree of change was almost identical to that observed in 1975. Also deer were observed on every exposure. Summer : An even distribution was observed during the summer season. Twenty-two percent of the observations were made on northern exposures while 20 percent were made on southern exposures. Easterly exposures (E, NE and SE) had 23 percent compared to 24 percent on the westerly exposures (W, NW, SW). Usage of flat lands, at 33 percent, was up from the 21 percent figure observed last year, indlcatino- the dryness of the summer season. ° -24- Table 9- Seasonal use of exposure by mule deer. Winter Spring Summer Pall Yearly '75-'76 1976 1976 1976 Total Exposure i]0 - - 3411/ 100- 424 72 - 149 121- 503 333- •l4l7 North 15-/ 61/ 14 14 8 10 13 11 13 11 South 5 8 11 15 8 10 7 >• 6 8 10 East — — 14 20 8 8 12 12 10 11 West 8 14 11 6 17 17 10 9 11 10 NE 18 13 8 6 10 10 8 8 10 9 NW 2 1 6 4 3 2 5 3 4 3 SE 5 3 9 8 3 5 1 1 4 4 SW 22 30 6 4 7 5 6 6 8 11 Flat 25 26 21 22 36 33 38 45 31 32 1/ Number of group observations - total observed. 2/ Percent of group observations 3./ Percent of total Fall : Again the dry pattern asserts itself as 45 percent of all mule deer observations were made on flat lands. North exposures had 22 percent of the observations compared to 13 percent for the southerly exposures, further indication of mule deer movement to more mesic surroundings. Pronghorn Antelope A total of 906 antelope in l48 groups was observed during the third year of the Sarpy Creek study. The low number observed was 60 during the winter season while the high was 3l8 during the summer survey. This compares to 731 observed in 1975 and 3^5 observed in 1974. The number of antelope observed per hour of flight (table 1) decreased from 18.2 in 1975 to 12.8 in 1976. Fall observations decreased from l4.9 to 12.2 antelope per hour. Distribution Seasonal antelope observations are shown in figure 7. Only four winter observations were made, three in the Bear Creek unit and one in the Horse Creek unit. This lends further support to the theory that antelope migrate into the Tullock Creek drainage during the winter season. The three distinct antelope herds, one in each subunit , described last year (Martin 1976) are again apparent. The Horse Creek unit had by far the most observations. The southwestern portion of the Absaloka unit had several observations in 1976 while no observations were recorded there in previous years. Population Characteristics Table 10 shows the antelope population characteristics of the three subunits of the Sarpy Creek study area for summer and fall during 1976. The Horse Creek subunit had the most observations during both seasons but decreased from 193 in the summer to 128 in the fall survey. It had the worst production figures with 18 and 10 fawns per 100 does in summer and fall, respectively. Bear Creek subunit observations increased from 49 to 75 and the fawn/100 doe ratio increased from 28 to 51. Observations in the Absaloka unit decreased from 76 in the summer season to 44 in fall. The fawn/100 doe ratio also decreased from 53 to 26. For the entire study area the percentage of fawns in the population decreased from 18 percent during the summer months to 15 percent in the fall (figure 8). Fawn production measured in terms of fawns/100 adults decreased from 21 in summer to l8 in fall. This is a decrease from 32 fawns/100 adults observed in the 1975 fall and 44 fawns/100 adults in -26- Treasure | Rosebud County ! County Figure 7. Antelope oDservatlons in the Sarpy Creek study area In 1976. -27- Table 10. Antelope population characteristics in the Sarpy Creek drainage, 1976. Pawns : Bucks : Population Structure Sub-Unit Season Bucks Does Pawns Total 100 Does 100 Adults 100 Does Bucks Does Fawns Bear Creek si/ 3 36 10 49 283/ 26 8 6 74 20 13 41 21 75 51 39 32 17 55 28 Horse Creek S 51 120 22 193 18 13 43 26 62 11 F 30 89 9 128 10 8 34 23 70 7 Absaloka S 7 45 24 76 53 46 16 9 59 32 P 5 31 8 44 26 22 16 11 71 18 Sarpy Study S 61 201 56 318 28 21 30 19 63 18 Area P 48 161 38 247 24 18 30 19 65 15 1/ Sumner observations (June-August) 2/ Pall observations (September-November) 3/ All percentages rounded to nearest whole number. I 100 I rv) vo 60 50 40 30 20 10 1974 1975 1976 18 52 44 30 20 58 ^^28 O- 22 21 59 25 20 17 59 32 24 19 63 18 19 65 18 15 B D F Season - Summer Number cz. Observed " B D F Fall 149 B D F Summer 197 B D F Fall 284 B D F Summer 318 B D F Fall 247 Figure 8. Summer and fall antelope population structure (percent bucks, does, and fawns - bar graph) and production (fawns per 100 adults - line graph) in the Sarpy Creek drainage from 1973 through 1976. the 1974 summer (table 11). The percentage of bucks in the population has remained fairly stable over the study period at approximately 19 percent. The percentage of does has increased from the low 50 's in 197^+ to 59 percent in 1975 and about 64 percent in 1976. Fawn percentages have decreased from a high of 30 percent in the 197^ summer to a low of 15 percent in the fall of 1976. Antelope harvest (figure 9) remains steady in the two hunting units. Harvest increased in unit 720 slightly while unit 722 harvest decreased slightly. , Both Pish and Game Region 7 and "old" unit 72 seem to be sustaining harvest at relatively high levels. Seasonal Use of Soil Associations The total years usage pattern deviated from that observed in the two previous years which were similar (Martin 1976). The Bainvllle-Midway/Thedalund-Midway (B-M/T-M) association maintained the most usage all three years with the 60 percent figure observed in 1976 being the highest (table 12). This usage is still below the expected level based on the x2 analysis described earlier in this report. The Plasher- Bainville/Nelson-Alice (F-B/N-A) and Wanetta-Hesper (W-H) associations with 17 and 10 percent of the antelope observations, respectively, received significant positive usage by antelope in 1976. Usage of the F-B/N-A association decreased from 27 percent observed in 1975. The 10 percent figure observed in the Pierre-Lismas association was only a slight decrease from the 13 percent observed in 1975, but with the increased number of antelope observed (731 in 1975 to 906 in 1976) it was enough to drop below the level of significant preference. The Wayden-Regent association with no observations and the Wibaux-Thedalund-Spearman association with only 4 percent of the observed antelope received significant negative usage . The distribution of x2 values (figure 10) reveals a large number of significant values, those situated on the right portion of the graph. There are more of these values than observed on the mule deer histogram (figure 6). This indicates that the antelope are more selective than mule deer. Winter: Antelope were observed on only two associations, the W-H which had 88 percent and the B-M/T-M with 12 percent. Last year there were no observations on W-H soil while P-L sustained the most antelope with 48 percent of the total. The usage of the B-M/T-M association decreased from 22 percent in 1975 to 12 percent in 1976. Both years usage was sign- ificantly lower than expected. -30- Table 11. Antelope population characteristics in the Sarpy Creek drainage, 197^-1976. Fawns : 100 Bucks : Population Structure {%) Season Year Bucks Does Fawns Total Does Adults 100 Does Bucks Does Fawns Suirmer June-Aug. 1974 10 29 17 56 591/ 44 34 l8 52 30 Pall Sept. -Nov. 1974 30 86 33 l49 38 28 35 20 58 22 Suirmer June-Aug. 1975 42 115 40 197 35 25 37 21 59 20 Fall Sept. -Nov. 1975 47 l68 69 284 4l 32 28 17 59 24 Suirmer June-Aug. 1976 6l 201 56 3l8 28 21 30 19 63 l8 Fall Sept. -Nov. 1976 48 l6l 38 247 24 l8 30 19 65 15 1/ All percentages rounded to nearest whole number. Figure 9. Antelope harvest statistics Table 12. Seasonal use of soil associations by antelope. Winter Spring Summer Fall Yearly Total '75-'76 , 1976 1976 1976 1976 Soil Association 4 - 6oI/ 64 - 28l 53 - 3l8 27- 247 l48- 906 1 . Wa n pt t a — Hp sner fT")2/ 753/ 8 si/ p5/ 4 2 2 7 1 9 5 10? p r _L d X t: Xj-L olUcio V / 8 7 6 21P 7 10 3. Plasher-Balnvllle (T)/ Nelson-Alice (B) - - 20 13 23 19? 26 21? 22 17? 4. Bainville-Midway (T)/ Thedalund-Midway (B) 25 12N 67 76? 68 69 48 4lN 63 60N 5. Wayden-Regent (B) _N 6. Wibaux-Thedalund- Spearman (B) 2 tri/ N 4 4 4 8 3 ]^/ Number of group observations - total observed 2/ (T) - Treasure County; (B) - Bighorn County 3/ Percent of group observations ?/ Percent of total 5^/ N - Negative usage significant at p= .05 P - Positive usage significant at p= .05 6/ tr= trace; a percentage less than 0.5 Probability of a greater value 0.0 .02 .10 .45 1.32 2.71 3.84 5.02 6.63 7.88 oo Chi-square value Figure 10. Histogram of chl-square values for antelope seasonal distribution by soil association (1974-1976). Spring: Usage of the B-M/T-M association increased to 76 percent. This was positive selection by antelope for that soil association. A trace was observed in the W-T-S assocation demonstrating negative preference. The W-H association usage decreased from 26 percent in 1975 to only 4 percent in 1976. Summer : The summer usage pattern was very similar to that observed in spring with the only changes being a slight drop in the percentage observed on the B-M/T-M association and a nearly equal rise in the F-B/N-A percentage. The 19 percent observed in the P-B/N-A association was the only summer season figure which showed significant preference. It was also the only one with significant positive preference in 1975. Fall : The same five associations on which antelope were observed during the spring and summer months again supported antelope. The B-M/T-M had the highest percentage of utilization, 4l percent, but demonstrated negative preference. The P-L and F-B/N-A associations, each with 21 percent, were positively selected for by antelope. This pattern was more diversified than that observed last year when the B-M/T-M had 59 percent of the observations and the W-H and W-R associations received no use. Seasonal Use of Vegetation Types The grassland vegetation type was the most important to antelope in 1976. Fifty percent of the years observations were made on this type (table 13) • This is an increase from 45 percent in 1975 (Martin 1976) and 38 percent in 197^ (Martin 1975). The sagebrush type was also important with percentages of 38, 42, and 49 in 1976, 1975, and 1974, respectively. The two types together consistently account for 87 percent of all antelope observations. Winter : Antelope were observed only on the grassland and sagebrush subtypes of the grassland vegetation type. In 1975, 78 percent of the antelope observed were on the sagebrush vegetation type. Only 4 group observations were made which severely limits the validity of any conclusions drawn from the data. Spring : Grassland and sagebrush types received the most usage, each with 42 percent of the group observations. The grassland type had more antelope with 49 percent compared to 38 percent observed in the sagebrush type. Usage of the ponderosa pine type increased from zero in 1974 and 1975 to 10 percent this year. At the same time creekbottom usage -35- Table 13. Seasonal use of vegetation types by antelope. Winter Spring Summer Fall Yearly '75-'76 1976 1976 1976 Total Vegetation Types 4 - 60I/ 64- 28l 53- 318 27 -247 148-906 Ponderosa pine - - 2 1 1 y tri/ - - - - 1 tr Sagebrush 3 1 8 8 4 3 5 4 Grassland 5 7 4 4 3 3 Skunkbush _ _ 3 2 4 2 3 1 Juniper - - - - Snowberry Total Ponderosa pine ~_ — 12 10 11 10 7 7 11 Q Sagebrush - - 38 33 36 37 30 40 34 34 Grassland 5 5 2 3 11 4 5 4 Total Sagebrush 42 38 38 4o 4l 44 39 38 Grassland 50 2/ 65^/ 38 44 47 49 37 39 4l 46 Sagebrush 50 35 5 5 3 4 Total Grassland 100 100 42 49 hi hs 37 39 45 50 Cottonwood Shrub 4 tr 1 tr Total Creekbottom 4 tr 1 tr Ponderosa pine Sagebrush/grassland 3 2 4 1 11 10 5 4 creekbottom Total Agricultural 3 2 4 1 11 10 5 4 !_/ Number of group observations - total observed 2/ Percent of group observations 3/ Percent of total \/ tr= trace; a percentage less than .05 decreased from 13 percent (1975) to zero (1976). Usage of agricultural fields also showed a substantial decrease going from l8 percent In 1975 to only 2 percent in 1976. Summer : The pattern of usage was similar to that observed last year. Grassland was the most important (49 percent), followed closely by sagebrush (40 percent), with ponderosa pine next at 10 percent. The number of antelope using agricultural lands was very small (1 percent) and non-existant on creekbottoms . Fall : The year long domination of grassland importance was broken as the percentage of antelope observed on sage- brush was highest at 44 percent. Grassland observations were second with 39 percent of the total. Usage of the agricultural type reached its highest level of the year at 10 percent. The only observations of antelope in a creek- bottom vegetation type were made during the fall period. Seasonal Activity As last year, most observations were made of antelope either running or standing alert. Eighty-two percent (table l4) of all antelope observed were in one of these two modes. The other two categories were also very similar to last year (Martin 1976). Thirteen percent of the antelope observed in 1976 were feeding compared to 12 percent in 1975. The figures for reclining antelope were 6 percent in 1976 and 9 percent in 1975. Seasonal Use of Topography Of the 906 year long observations, 78 percent were recorded as being on hillsides (table 15). This is more than the 68 percent figure observed in 1975. Coulee bottoms and valley floors received identical usage in 1975 and 1976. Coulee bottoms had 7 percent of the total in 1975 and 6 percent in 1976. Valley floors had 8 percent usage both years. Use of plateaus decreased from 13 percent in 1975 to only 3 percent this year. Four percent of the observations were made on ridges. Only a trace were seen on creekbottoms and no observations were made on coulee heads. Winter : The hillside category contained 77 percent of the antelope observed. This was up from 48 percent observed last year. Valley floor usage comprised the remaining 23 percent. Thirty percent of the antelope observed in 1975 were on valley floors. No antelope were observed in any of the other categories. In 1975, 22 percent were observed on plateaus (Martin 1976). -37- Table l4. Seasonal activity of antelope. Activity Winter lb- Jo 4 - 6oi/ Spring 1976 64 -281 Summer 1976 53 - 318 Fall 1976 27 - 247 Yearly Total 148-906 Standing 52 49 49 47 44 54 48 46 Running lOoi/ lOol/ 14 15 36 42 41 36 29 36 Lying 8 7 8 6 11 5 8 6 Feeding 27 30 8 6 4 4 15 13 \_/ Number of group observations - total observed 2/ Percent of group observations 3_/ Percent of total Table 15. Seasonal use of topography by antelope. Winter Spring Summer Pall Yearly '75-'76 , 1976 1976 1976 Total Topography 4 -60-^ 64- 28l 53- 3l8 27-247 l48- 906 Hillside 752/ 773/ 69 65 75 79 89 93 75 78 Ridge 5 3 8 10 5 4 Plateau 3 3 2 tr 7 7 3 3 Coulee Hd. Coulee Btm. 6 7 13 10 7 6 Valley Fir. 25 23 17 22 8 8 Creekbottom 2 1 4 tr 1 tr 2^/ Number of group observations - total observed 2/ Percent of group observations 3^/ Percent of total Spring : This years usage pattern is similar to that observed last year. No observations were made in the coulee head or creekbottom categories and hillside usage was the most important, increasing to 65 percent in 1976 from 48 percent in 1975. This figure (65 percent) was the lowest for the hillside category during any season in 1976. Valley floor usage remained quite high at 22 percent. Summer : The only major difference between 1975 and 1976 usage of topography by antelope was the increase to 10 percent of the observations on ridges in 1976 from zero in 1975. Hillside usage remained high at 79 percent. Creekbottom, valley floor, coulee head and plateau types received 1 percent or less use in 1976. Fall : In 1975 all but one of the topographic categories received antelope usage. In 1976 observations were made on only three types: the hillside type, with 93 percent; the plateau type, with 7 percent; and creekbottoms , with only a trace. This may be indicative of the dryness of the fall season causing stress on the herd, perhaps forcing them on to their wintering areas earlier than normal. Seasonal Use of Slope The 1976 yearly total percentage of usage (table 16) is identical to that observed last year in all four categories. Medium slopes accounted for 50 percent of the observations. Steep slopes accounted for 3 percent. Winter : Fifty-seven percent of the antelope observations were on gentle slopes, followed by flat and medium slopes with 23 and 20 percent, respectively. No observations were made on steep slopes. This pattern is essentially the same as that observed in 1975. Spring: Usage of flat areas remained steady (21 percent) while medium slope usage increased to 57 percent and gentle slope usage decreased to 27 percent. Only a trace was observed on steep slopes. Summer : The medium slopes continued to support the highest number of antelope (54 percent). The rise in usage of gentle slopes to 4l percent was nearly off set by the decline in usage of flat lands to 1 percent. The summer months of 1975 also had the least amount of antelope usage on flat areas . -40- Table l6. Seasonal slope usage by antelope. Winter Spring Summer Fall Yearly '75-'76 , 1976 1976 1976 Total Gradient 4 - 601/ 64 -281 53 -318 27- 247 148- 906 Plat 252/ 233/ 16 21 4 1 7 7 10 10 Gentle 50 57 33 27 40 41 37 40 36 37 Medium 25 20 50 52 53 54 52 49 51 50 Steep 2 tr 4 4 4 5 3 3 1/ Number of group observations - total observations 2/ Percent of group observations 3^/ Percent of total Fall: Gentle slopes received higher usage In 1976 than In 1975 with HO and 31 percent respectively. Medium slopes continued to attract the highest number of antelope with 49 percent of the total observed. Seasonal Use of Exposure Antelope usage of the various exposures is shown in table 17. East and north slopes had the highest number of antelope observations with 20 and l6 percent, respectively. Northerly slopes (N, NE and NW) supported. 38 percent of observed antelope compared to 29 percent on southerly slopes (S, SE and SW) . Winter : Seventy-seven percent of the observations were on north slopes. Twenty-three percent were on flat land. This is a big deviation from 1975 when 48 percent of the observations were on south slopes. Again, the number of group observations is very small. Spring: During spring and the remainder of the year, antelope were observed on all exposures. The northeast exposure, with l8 percent of the observations, had the most antelope and the southeast exposure, with 2 percent, had the least. The combined northerly exposures had 35 percent of the observations as did the combined easterly exposures. The combined southern and western exposures had 25 and 22 percent, respectively. Summer : Southeast and east exposures each had 20 percent of the summer antelope observations. The combined eastern exposures accounted for 53 percent of the antelope observations. This compares with 52 percent observed on eastern exposures in 1975 (Martin 1976). Use of flat areas decreased to 1 percent, the yearlong low. Usage of flat lands was also lowest last summer. Fall: Again east exposure usage was the highest, 32 percent. Northern and southern exposures each received 31 percent of the antelope observations. This compares with 36 percent each received in 1975. White-tailed Deer Only 11 white-tailed deer group observations were made in 1976 (figure 2): 2 winter, 6 spring, 2 summer and 1 fall. Although many white-tailed deer died in some portions of eastern Montana during the early fall months, none were found on this study area. -42- Table 17. Seasonal use of exposure by antelope. Exposure Winter 1 D- ( 0 4 - 60i/ Spring 1976 64- 281 Summer 1976 53- 318 Fall 1976 27 -247 Yearly Total 148-906 North 752/ 773/ ± d. n 1 ± X 1 7 -L ( J- J -L J X X 1 6 X u 1 6 X u South - - X. c. J- J Q 0 fi 0 XI) X X XX East - - 16 15 21 20 22 32 18 20 West - - 6 6 4 3 4 tr 5 3 NE 20 18 11 13 15 10 16 13 NW 5 6 13 14 7 10 8 9 SE 3 2 17 20 11 6 9 9 SW 9 10 6 9 4 10 7 9 Plat 25 23 16 21 4 1 7 7 10 10 \/ Number of group observations - total observed 2/ Percent of group observations 3_/ Percent of total Whitetall harvest for southeastern Montana and the hunting units which Include Sarpy Creek Is shown In figure 11. Unit 720 harvest decreased In 197^ while harvest In unit 722 Increased. Total harvest In Pish and Game Region 7 Increased. Coyotes Coyotes are a part of the ecosystem. Unfortunately they have been either Ignored or maligned by most of the human population over the years. In an attempt to determine the effects of coyotes on other wildlife species In the Sarpy Creek study area, coyote observations were given the same attention as the primary big game species, mule deer, and antelope. During 1976, 109 coyotes were observed In 71 group observations. The highest number, 49, was observed during the fall survey. Spring and summer were the lowest with l6 and 17 coyotes observed, respectively. Distribution Seasonal coyote observations are shown In figure 12. Coyotes were seen In all three subunlts In every season. The highest concentration of winter observations was In the open portions of the Absaloka unit, especially In the Sarpy Basin area. A good share of the observations in all seasons were on Sarpy Creek bottom and tributary creekbottoms . Seasonal Use of Soil Associations Of the six associations, only the Wayden-Regent (W-R) association seemed to be selected for by coyotes and it supported only 13 percent of the years observations (table l8) . The Balnville-Mldway/Thedalund-Mldway (B-M/T-M) Association had 68 percent of the observations while at the other extreme the Wanetta-Hesper association percentage was zero. The histogram of X2 values (figure 13) shows a pattern much different from that observed for mule deer and antelope (figure 6 and 10). There are no significant deviations at the p= .05 level and only two at the p= .10 level. It would seem from this analysis that coyotes are not dependent on any particular soil type for their survival. The fact that mule deer and antelope do seem to select for and against certain associations and coyotes seem to be spread all over may indicate that coyotes are not using either big game species as specific prey. -44- Figure 11. White-tailed deer harvest statistics. Figure 12. Coyote observations in the Sarpy Creek study area in 1976. -46- Table l8. Seasonal use of soil associations by coyotes. Winter Spring Summer Fall Yearly Total •75-'76 1976' 1976 1976 1976 Soil Association 20 - 27^^ 13 - 16 13 - 17 25 - ^9 71 - 109 1. Wanetta-Hesper (1)—^ - - - - 2. Pierre-Lismas (T) 8 4 4 3 3. Flasher-Bainville (T)/ Nelson-Alice (B) 10 11 8 6 8 6 8 4 8 6 4. Bainville-Midway (T)/ Thedalund-Midway (B) 70 74 77 81 62 70 44 59 61 68 5. Wayden-Regent (B) 10 7 15 12 15 12 20 16P5/ 15 13^ 6. Wibaux-Thedalund- Spearman (B) 5 4 15 12 20 16 11 10 1^/ Number of group observations - total observed 2_/ (T) - Treasure County; (B) - Bighorn County 3/ Percent of group observations ?/ Percent of total 5/ N - negative usage significant at p= .10 P - positive usage significant at p= .10 Probability of a greater value 0.0 .02 .10 45 1.32 2.71 3.84 5.02 6.63 7.88 oo Chi -square value Figure 13. Histogram of chl-square values for coyote seasonal distribution by soil association in 1976. -48- Winter: Five of six associations received coyote usage. The B-M/T-M was highest at 7^ percent. None of the associations percentages deviated significantly from expected values. Spring : Observations were made on only 3 associations the B-M/T-M with 8l percent; the W-R with 12 percent; and the Flasher-Bainville/Nelson-Alice (P-B/N-A) with 6 percent. Again there were no significant preferences demonstrated by the coyotes. Summer: The B-M/T-M association continued to support the highest percentage of coyote observations (70 percent). The W-R was again second with 12 percent, but was joined by the Wibaux-Thedalund-Spearman association (W-T-S) which also had 12 percent of the coyote observations. Fall: The B-M/T-M association, although it still received the highest usage at 59 percent, registered its lowest figure of the year. The W-R and W-T-S associations each had l6 percent of the observations. The W-R figure represented the only significant deviation for any association over the entire year. Seasonal Use of Vegetation Types On a yearly basis, the ponderosa pine type seems to be most important to coyotes as it sustained 37 percent of the recorded coyote observations (table 19). The sagebrush type followed at 28 percent. The remaining three types received roughly equal usage. Grassland, creekbottom and agricultural types had 15, 12 and 9 percent of the coyote observations, respectively . Winter : Ponderosa pine, with 44 percent of the observations, received the most usage. The grassland type had 33 percent of the coyote observations. Eleven percent of the coyotes were observed on each of the grassland and agricultural types. No coyotes were observed on creekbottoms . Spring : The relatively open sagebrush vegetation type Increased in importance to 31 percent of the observed coyotes. Grassland usage remained relatively stable and also sustained 31 percent of the coyote observations. Agricultural and creekbottom usage increased to 19 and 12 percent, respectively. Usage of the ponderosa pine type decrease substantially from the winter level to only 6 percent in spring. -49- Table 19. Seasonal use of vegetation types by coyotes. Winter Spring Summer Fall Yearly Ponderosa pine 30^/ 261^ 86 - - 42 11 8 Sagebrush 5 4 _ _ 31 47 4 6 8 11 Grassland 57 - - - - l6l4 78 Skunkbush 57 - - 86 12 6 76 Juniper -_ _ Snowberry - - 15 12 i| l| 44 Total Ponderosa pine ^ W^ 8 5 5^} E5 IfO 33 3B 37 Sagebrush 15 n 31 25 15 12 24 39 21 26 Grassland - - 8 6 - 4 2 3 2 Total Sagebrush 15 IT 3B 31 15 12 2E III 2^} 28" Grassland 25 33 15 31 - - 8 4 13 15 Sagebrush - _ _ _ Total Grassland 25 33 15 31 - I 8 4 13 15" Cottonwood _ 86 - - _ ]_-]_ Shrub - 8 6 8 6 20 20 10 11 Total Creekbottom - Z 15 12 8 5 20 20 11 12" Ponderosa pine - - _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Sagebrush/grassland - __ __ _ __ Creekbottom 15 11 23 19 23 18 4 2 l4 9 Total Agricultural I5 Ii 23 19 23 18 4 2 9" 1/ Number of groups observed - total observed 2/ Percent of group observations 3/ Percent of total Summer : Ponderosa pine usage increased to its highest point of the year, 65 percent. At the same time grassland usage dropped to its yearly low, zero percent. Agricultural usage remained steady at I8 percent while sagebrush and creekbottom usage decreased to 12 and 6 percent, respectively. Fall : The sagebrush type was the most important to coyotes as 4l percent of the observations were recorded in that type. Ponderosa pine usage followed at 33 percent, a substantial decrease from the summer level. Creekbottom percentage reached its yearly high at 20 percent. The percentage of coyotes observed on grassland and agricultural types was very low at 4 and 2 percent, respectively. Seasonal Activity The activity of coyotes at the time of observation is presented in table 20. Sixty percent of the yearly observations were of coyotes either running or standing. Twenty-eight percent of the coyotes were observed feeding and 12 percent were observed lying down. The highest percentage of coyotes observed feeding was 49 percent during the fall season. Seasonal Use of Topography Hillsides and creekbottoms received the most usage by coyotes in 1976 (table 21) with 58 and 22 percent of the observations, respectively. The remaining topographic features received little use. Winter: Coulee heacis and coulee bottoms received no use. Ridges, plateaus and valley floors each had 7 percent of the total observations. Creekbottoms had 11 percent and hillsides had the most usage wrlth 67 percent of the coyote observations . Spring: Hillsides remained in the lead position but decreased substantially to 38 percent. Creekbottom and coulee bottom usage increased to 31 and 12 percent, respect- ively. Ridge, plateau and valley floor usage remained equal and constant with 6 percent each. Summer : Hillside usage Increased to 47 percent while ridge and coulee head usage also Increased to 12 and 6 percent, respectively. Creekbottom and coulee bottom usage decreased to 29 and 6 percent, respectively. The two relatively flat topographic features, plateaus and valley floors, received no observed usage. -51- Table 20. Seasonal activity of coyotes. Activity Winter '75-'76 20 271/ Sprin 1976 1 ^ _ -L J g X D Summer 1976 Ij -1 r Pall 1976 25 - )i n 49 Yearly Total 71 - 109 Standing 2/ 40- 30 3/ 38 31 31 47 20 10 31 24 Running 45 46 56 54 41 28 22 41 36 Lying 5 15 12 8 6 32 18 17 12 Feeding 10 22 8 6 20 49 11 28 1/ Number of group observations - total observed 2/ Percent of group observations 3/ Percent of total Table 21, Seasonal use of topography by coyotes. Topography Winter '75-'76 20 - 27 1/ Spring 1976 13 - 16 Summer 1976 13 - 17 Fall 1976 25- 49 Yearly Total 71 -109 Hillside 55 Ridge 10 Plateau 10 Coulee Hd. Coulee Btm. - Valley Fir. 10 Creekbottom 15 2/ 671/ 7 7 11 23 8 8 15 8 38 38 6 6 12 6 31 31 15 8 8 47 12 6 6 38 29 60 63 4 2 4 6 4 4 4 2 24 22 46 8 6 3 6 4 27 58 6 6 3 4 3 22 1/ Number of group observations - total observed 2/ Percent of group observations 3_/ Percent of total Fall: The fall pattern was very similar to the yearlong total. Hillsides, with 63 percent, and creekbottoms , with 22 percent, were the most used by coyotes. No observations were made on valley floors. The remaining features received approximately equal usage as each had 4 percent of the coyote group observations. Seasonal Use of Slope Coyotes seem to prefer flat and gentle slopes as 63 percent of the yearly total of coyotes observed were on these two slopes (table 22). Only 15 percent were observed on steep slopes. Winter : Medium, gentle and flat slopes received nearly equal use by coyotes with observation percentages ranging from 33 to 26 percent. Steep slope observations accounted for 11 percent of the total number observed. Spring: Flat areas had the highest number of coyotes with 44 percent of the total. Medium and gentle slopes had 31 and 25 percent, respectively. No observations were made on steep slopes. Summer: Steep slope usage increased to 35 percent, its high point of the year. Flat and medium slopes each had 29 percent and gentle slopes received their lowest seasonal usage, 6 percent. Fall : Gentle slope usage, 43 percent, was at the seasonal high during the fall period while medium slope usage was at the seasonal low, 10 percent. Flat land usage increased slightly from the summer level to 33 percent. The percentage observed on steep slopes declined to l4 percent. Seasonal Use of Exposure Coyotes used flat lands more than any Individual exposure. Thirty-one percent of all observations were on flat areas (table 23). Southern exposures (S, SE and SW) supported 35 percent of the coyote observations. Twenty-one percent of the observations were on northern exposures. Winter : Southernly exposures had 45 percent of the observations while 26 percent were recorded on northern exposures. Eastern exposures (E, NE and SE) contained 23 percent compared to 15 percent on western (W, NW and SW) -54- Table 22. Seasonal slope usage by coyotes. Gradient Winter '75-'76 20 - 27 Spring 1976 13 - 16 Summer 1976 13 - 17 Fall 1976 25 - 49 Yearly Total 71 - 109 Flat (0-15°) Gentle (16-30°) Medium (31-45°) Steep (45° +) 35 26 25 30 30 10 33 11 54 44 31 25 15 31 38 29 8 6 38 29 15 35 36 33 20 43 20 10 24 14 39 32 21 31 25 22 14 15 Table 23. Seasonal use of exposure by coyotes. Winter Spring Summer Pall Yearly Exposure '75-'76 20 27-y 1976 13 - 16 1976 13 - 17 1976 25 - 49 Total 71 -109 North 10 2/ 111/ - - - - 8 4 6 5 South 15 26 15 13 8 6 8 4 11 11 East 5 4 8 6 - - 20 35 10 17 West — — 8 6 8 4 4 3 NE 20 15 23 18 12 10 14 11 NW 8 25 8 6 3 5 SE 5 8 6 8 4 6 4 SW 10 15 8 6 15 35 4 8 8 14 Plat 35 26 5^ 44 38 29 32 31 38 31 1/ 2/ 1/ Number of group observations - total observed Percent of group observations. Percent of total exposures. South exposures and flat lands, each with 26 percent of the observations, received the most usage. No observations were made on west and northwest exposures. Spring : No observations were made on north, northeast or southeast exposures. Flat lands again recorded the highest number of coyotes with 44 percent. Western slopes had 37 percent of the observations compared to only 6 percent on all eastern exposures. Summer: The number of coyotes observed on southern slopes increased to 4? percent, approximately equal to the percentage observed during the winter period. Twenty-four percent were observed on the northern slopes. Flat land usage decreased to 29 percent, again nearly equal with the winter percentages. Western slope usage remained high, 4l percent, with the SW exposure accounting for 35 percent of all coyote observations. Eastern slopes had 24 percent of the observations. Fall_: Plat land usage was up slightly to 31 percent. The 35 percent observed on east exposures topped all categories. Usage of easterly slopes increased to nearly half of all coyotes observed, 49 percent. Only 12 percent were observed on western slopes, a substantial decrease from the previous two seasons. Predator-Prey Relationships Coyotes undoubtedly had some effect on the other wildlife species in the study area. Although coyotes were not observed to be feeding on or stalking any game species, either mammal or bird, during the past year, they were observed feeding on cattle carcasses. They were also observed stalking small rodents and prairie dogs. An attempt was made to determine if coyote numbers are increasing or decreasing in relation to mule deer. Table 24 gives the number of coyotes and mule deer observed during the four seasons of 1975 and 1976. The number of coyotes per 100 deer was calculated for comparisons. It appears that coyote numbers vis-a-vis deer are lowest during the spring season and highest in the summer time. This pattern would be expected as coyotes are heavily harvested for their pelts during winter then give birth to their young in April or May. Litters range in size from 5 to 10 (Burt and Grossenheider 1964). The number of coyote observations per 100 deer increased from 4.4 in 1975 to 7-7 in 1976. Either coyote numbers increased or deer numbers decreased. Most likely a combination of the two possibilities occurred. Table 1 throws some light on -57- I \T\ CO I Table 24. Coyote and mule deer observations In the Sarpy Creek drainage during 1975 and Season Coyotes 1975 1976 Winter 16 27 Spring 15 16 Summer k 17 Pall 31 49 Mule Deer 1975 312 387 75 693 1976 34l 149 503 Coyotes/100 Deer A975 1976 5.1 7.9 3.8 3.8 5.3 11.4 ^.4 9.7 the subject. The number of coyotes observed per hour of flight Increased slightly from 1.4 to 1.5 while mule deer and antelope observations decreased. Mule deer observations decreased from 26.1 per hour to l4.1 and antelope observations decreased from l8.2 to 12.8 per hour. From this it seems that deer and antelope populations decreased while coyote numbers held relatively steady. The principle of diminishing returns, i.e. and increase in effort resulting in ever decreasing return per unit of effort, probably exaggerates the actual loss in deer numbers. However, the fact that 194 less deer were observed during the 1976 fall flights than in 1975 in spite of 4.5 additional hours of flying time indicates the deer population may indeed be down. Prairie Grouse Four additional sharptail dancing grounds were located in 1976 bringing the number of documented sharptail dancing grounds within or near the Sarpy study area to thirty-six (appendix table 28). The number of male birds observed on dancing grounds decreased from 4l3 in 1975 to 309 in 1976 (table 25). Thirty-nine male sage grouse were observed on 3 strutting grounds. Banding of sharp-tailed grouse on several dancing grounds in the Sarpy Creek and Colstrip vicinities was again conducted with employees of the Montana Fish and Game Department and personnel of Ecological Consulting Service. Distribution The thirty-six sharptail dancing grounds are shown in figure l4. Birds were observed on only 30 grounds in 1976. The Absaloka unit had the highest number of active grounds with 13, one more than last year (table 25). The Horse Creek unit had 11 active grounds, down from l4 observed in 1975- Six active grounds were observed in the Bear Creek unit. Only three sage grouse strutting grounds were attended in 1976. These are the same three that were attended last year (table 25). Ground number 2 (figure l4) apparently has become inactive. It is unlikely that the male birds observed there in 1974 were moving from ground number 3 to 4 or vice versa since both are at least 4 miles distant from ground number 2. Wallestad (1975) reported that 1.1 miles was the maximum distance radio-equipped cocks moved from strutting grounds in central Montana. Population Characteristics Breeding population data for prairie grouse are shown in table 25. The number of male birds on individual grounds is -59- Table 25. Prairie grouse breeding ground data. Species Sub Unit Number of Grounds 1974 1975 Active 1976 Male 1974 R1 rd =; 1975 1976 Male Birds / Active Ground 1974 1975 1976 Sharptall Bear Creek c. 6 26 49 71 13.0 12 . 3 11 . 8 Horse Creek 8 14 11 108 208 124 13.5 14 . 9 11.3 Absaloka 6 12 13 69 156 114 11.5 13.0 8.8 Sarpy Study Area 16 30 30 203 413 309 12 .7 13.8 10.3 Sage Grouse Bear Creek 0 1 1 0 5 2 0.0 5.0 2.0 Horse Creek 3 2 2 35 37 37 11.7 18.5 18.5 Sarpy Study Area 3 3 3 35 42 39 11.7 14.0 13 . 0 Permanent stream Intermittent stream Paved road Unpoved road County line Study area Breeding grounds Sage grouse Sharptail Pheasant routes Turkey obs Figure l4 Prairie grouse Dreeamg grounds, pheasant crow count routes and turkey observations C1974-1976) In the Sarpy Creek study area. -61- given In appendix table 28. The average number of sharptall males per ground was 10.3 In 1976, a considerable decrease from the level of the previous two years . The deep snow and cold weather of the early winter months (appendix table 29) is most likely responsible for that decrease. This becomes more evident when the relative decreases within the three subunits are examined. The Absaloka unit decreased 4.2 birds per active ground, a 32 percent reduction. It being the southernmost and having the highest average elevation, had more snow than the other two subunits. The Horse Creek unit suffered a 24 percent decline, from l4.9 to 11.3 birds per active ground. The unit with the lowest average elevation and the least amount of snow. The Bear Creek unit, lost only 0.5 birds per ground, a 4 percent reduction. Only two sharptall broods were observed during the summer period. The 7.5 young per brood is an increase from the 6.6 observed in Sarpy Creek last year (Martin 1976) and above the average for southeast Montana of 6.7 young per brood (Wallestad 1974). The number of male sage grouse per active strutting ground also decreased in 1976. The 13.0 birds per ground represents a 7 percent decrease from the l4 . 0 birds per ground observed in 1975 (table 25). No sage grouse broods were observed . Use of Soil Associations Dancing grounds have been located on four of the six soil associations. All four new grounds located in 1976 were on the Bainville-Midway/Thedalund-Midway (B-M/T-M) association. It had the most active grounds, l6 (table 26). The Pierre- Llsma association with only two active grounds had the highest average number of male birds per active ground, l6.0. The B-M/T-M association, which had the highest average last year at 15.1 (Martin 1976), decreased to only 9.8 birds per active ground in 1976. The Wlbaux-Thedalund-Spearman association again supported the lowest average number of male birds per active ground. No grounds have been found on Wanetta- Hesper or Wayden-Regent associations. All sage grouse strutting grounds were located in the Bainvllle-Mldway/Thedalund-Mldway association . Sharptall Banding Study The sharp-tailed grouse banding study initiated in the spring of 1975 was continued in 1976. Personnel of Westmore- land Resources, Ecological Consulting Service and the Montana Department of Fish and Game cooperated in the trapping operation. A total of 44 birds were banded on -62- Table 26. Sharptall dancing ground distribution by soil association. Soil Association All Grounds 1976 Active Grounds Male Birds Male birds/ Active Ground 1. Wanetta-Hesper (T) 2. Plerre-Llsmas (T) 2 2 32 16.0 3. Flasher-Bainville (T)/ Nelson-Alice (B) 8 6 DO 11 . U 4. Bainville-Mldway (T)/ Tin *arl a 1 n — .M i tt" "R JLilCU.ct-LUI lU. "•ri-HJ.WcLj' \-D/ 20 16 156 9.8 5. Wayden-Regent (B) 6. Wibaux-Thedalund- Spearman (B) 6 6 55 9.2 Total 36 30 309 10.3 eight different dancing grounds. Nine birds on two dancing grounds were banded in the Sarpy study area. Thirty-five birds on 6 grounds were banded in the Colstrip vicinity (appendix table 30). Work on this study will continue in both areas in 1977- Sarpy Creek. Of the 31 birds banded in the spring of 1975, only 6 were observed on grouncfe in spring 1976. Three birds, tag numbers 26 and 33 with one unidentified, were observed on ground number 10 (figure l4). Two birds, with tag numbers 29 and 36, were observed on dancing ground number 8. One bird, tag number 15, was observed on dancing ground number 25. These represent mortality rates of 77, 82 and 86 percent for the three grounds, respectively. Overall, the returns indicate a mortality figure of 8l percent for sharp-tailed grouse from the spring of 1975 to the sprine of 1976. The harsh weather and deep snow of the 1975-76 winter was undoubtedly responsible for most of this high mortality rate. Of course some of the mortality occurred before winter. Five marked birds were observed on dancing ground number 8 on October 30, 1975 (Austin 1977). Tag number 36 was not among those observed. At least 6 of the 11 banded the previous spring were still alive at that time. The maximum mortality rate from spring through fall would be 45 percent. One bird, number 15 from ground number 25, was taken by a hunter in early October 1976. Since this bird was classified as an adult (Martin 1976) in the spring of 1975, it would have been over three years old, hatching in 1973 at the latest. No birds were observed on dancing grounds other than the one on which they were marked. Colstrip . Five birds banded in 1975 returned to their respective dancing grounds in 1976 (Schwarzkoph 1977). This 90 percent mortality rate is slightly higher than that recorded in the Sarpy Creek area. Three birds were known to die of unnatural causes. Two were shot and one was killed by a dog. One adult male was observed to move from the ground on which it was banded to another miles away. Recordings of sharp-tailed grouse mating activities were used to attempt establishment of new dancing grounds on reclamation areas as well as undisturbed native habitat. The results of this experiment are inconclusive at this time. More should be known after the 1977 mating season. -64- Ring-necked Pheasants Pheasant crow count routes are shown In figure l4 . The results of three years work are shown In table 27. The total spring breeding population appeared to be slightly higher In the Sarpy Study area In 1976 than 1975 while the total for all routes was slightly lower, decreasing from 15.9 calls per stop In 1975 to l4.9 In 1976. While the lower Sarpy route retained the highest population density, calls per mile In 1976 were still below the 197^ level. The upper Sarpy route has Increased from 7-9 In 197^^ to 21.0 In 1976. This respresents a 166 percent Increase In the two year period. The levels recorded on the East Fork Sarpy Creek route decreased slightly from the 1975 level but were still considerably higher than that observed In 197^. The only two routes which decreased measurably were the East Bear and North Fork Beaver Creek routes. Two routes outside the Sarpy drainage were done for comparison. Calls per mile on both routes, lower Tullock Creek and Yellowstone River, were up from previous surveys. The apparent decline shown in the total for surrounding area calls per mile (table 27) is misleading because a route through a low density area along the Yellowstone River replaced a high density route on upper Tullock Creek. Nine pheasant broods were observed during the summer months. This is 3 times as many as were observed in 1975 (Martin 1976). The dryness of the season probably accounts for the higher observability of pheasant broods. Seventy- six young were observed, an average of 8.4 per brood. In 1975, the average was 8.7 young per brood (Martin 1976). Merr lam's Turkey Turkey observations from 1974 through 1976 are shown in figure l4. The turkeys appear to occupy the area from East Fork Sarpy Creek south to Sarpy Creek and up to the Sarpy-Tullock Creek divide on the west. This area also coincides with the very area planned for exploitation by Westmoreland's Absaloka coal mine. The turkey population seems to be stable at this time. SUMMARY Baseline data collection on mule deer and antelope continued with increased effort. Coyotes were Included in the comprehensive data gathering process for the first time. Nineteen seventy-six distribution, population characteristics, activities and seasonal use of soil associations, vegetation -65- Table 27. Ring-necked pheasant crowing adjacent drainages. count survey data in the Sarov Creek and Length Calls Per Mile Route 1974 1975 1976 * Lower Sarpy Creek 20 27.7 24.7 25.6 * Upper Sarpy Creek 15 7.9 11.8 21.0 Lower Tullock Creek 15 4.7 11.7 16.7 Upper Tullock Creek 15 10 .7 17 .6 * North Pork Beaver Cr . 6 1.8 8.0 ■ 7.2 * East Bear Creek 9 9.8 14 .2 9.4 Armell's Creek 21 2.7 Yellowstone River 23 3.8 6 9 Reservation Creek 16 3.7 * East Fork Sarpy Cr. 7 3.4 11.5 11.4 * Sarpy Study Area 58 13.3 16.7 17.9 Surrounding Area 89 4.7 14.6 10.8 Total 147 8.1 15.9 14 .9 1/ Number of stops each 1 mile apart. * Routes within the Sarpy Study area. types, topography, slopes and exposures along with apparent trends, were discussed for the three primary species. Sharp- tailed grouse banding studies In the Sarpy Creek and Colstrlp vicinities were discussed. Four more sharptall dancing grounds were located bringing the total number of documented grounds In the study area to 36. Sage grouse and pheasant population characteristics were discussed. Observations and trends derived from the first 3 years of study follow: (1) The winter of 1975-76 was the harshest since the study began. In spite of the greatly Increased snow fall, overall precipitation for the third year of study was considerably below that recorded In 1974, the first year. The beginning of a drought pattern Is well established. (2) Mule deer production continued Its downward trend as fawn/100 does ratios decreased for the fourth year In a row. The percentage of does In the population has Increased all four years reaching 55 percent In 1976. The previously declining percentage of bucks appears to have bottomed out last year as It Increased slightly In 1976 to 11 percent. (3) Antelope production, though never good compared to other areas of eastern Montana, was very poor decreasing to only 24 fawns/100 does In the fall of 1976. (4) The number of coyotes In the study area appears to have remained steady while deer and antelope numbers declined. Coyote numbers vis-a-vis mule deer are lowest in the spring and highest in the summer. (5) The harsh winter, especially in the Absaloka sub- unit, resulted in a fairly large drop in the number of sharp- tailed grouse attending the spring breeding grounds. Band returns indicate an 81 percent mortality from spring 1975 to spring 1976. The average number of male birds per active dancing ground dropped 3-5 birds from 13.8 in 1975 to 10. 3 in 1976. (6) Ring-necked pheasant populations Increased to high levels throughout the drainage. This Increase also occurred in areas adjacent to Sarpy Creek. (7) The Bainville-Mldway/Thedalund-Mldway soil association received the most usage by deer (75^), antelope (60^), and coyotes (68^). Mule deer and antelope seem to be more selective of soil types than are coyotes. Statistical analysis revealed 9 significant deviations in numbers of mule deer observed from the number expected throughout the year. There were 13 significant deviations in antelope -67- numbers but only 2 observed in coyote numbers. The smaller number of coyote observations may have biased this analysis. (8) The ponderosa pine vegetation type was most Important to mule deer as 47 percent of all observations were in that type. The grassland type, with 50 percent of the observations was used most by antelope. The highest number of coyotes (37%) was observed in the ponderosa pine type. (9) The previously mentioned shift of mule deer to lower elevations in the summer and fall was again apparent. The upland topography features (ridges, plateaus and coulee heads) supported 56 percent of mule deer during the winter season. These same three features had 16 percent in summer and 15 percent during the fall survey. The lowland types Increased from 18 percent usage in winter to 45 percent in summer and 48 percent in fall. (10) Mule deer and coyotes are dispersed throughout the study area. Antelope are separated into three distinct groups, one in each subunit. (11) The southern antelope herd apparently migrates into the Tullock drainage during the winter months. The northern herd may move back and forth across Sarpy Creek but remains within the drainage throughout the year. The Horse Creek herd apparently moves into the Tullock drainage during inclement weather in the winter, returning to Sarpy Creek at the earliest possible moment. -68- LITERATURE CITED Austin, R. 1977- Pers. comm. Biologist. Ecological Consulting Service. Helena, Montana. Burt, William H. and Richard P. Grossenheider . 1964. A field guide to the mammals, 2nd edition. The Riverside Press, pp. 73-75. Eustace, D.C. 1974. Big game survey and inventory (deer). Job. Prog. Rept. Mont. Dept. of Fish and Game. Unpubl. 11 pp. . 1977. Pers. comm. Biologist. Mont. Dept. of Fish and Game. Forsyth, Montana. Martin, Peter R. 1975. Sarpy Basin wildlife ecology study. Mont. Dept. of Pish and Game and Cormorant Corp. Prog. Rept. 58 pp. . 1976. Sarpy Basin wildlife ecology study. Mont. Dept. of Fish and Game and Cormorant Corp. Prog. Rept. 62 pp . Schwarzkoph, W. 1977. Pers. comm. Biologist. Ecological Consulting Service. Forsyth, Montana. Snedecor, G.W. and W.G. Cochran. Statistical methods. 6th edition. Iowa St. Univ. Press, Ames. 593 pp. Wallestad, R. 1974. Upland game bird surveys and inventory. Job. Prog. Rept. Mont. Dept. of Pish and Game. Unpubl. 13 pp. . 1975. Montana sage grouse. Life history and habitat requirements of sage grouse in Central Montana. Mont. Dept. of Fish and Game. 66 pp. -69- APPENDIX 9 Appendix Table 2 8. Location of prairie grouse breeding grounds and male birds attending In 1974, 1975 and 1976. Ground Location Date Hunting , Male Birds Attending Species Number T R S Located District Method- 1974 1975 1976 Sage Grouse 1 2N 36E 12 4-9-74 720 A 16 23 19 2 3N 37E 8 4-9-74 720 A 3 3 3N 37E 27 3-25-74 722 V 16 14 18 4 4n 36E 22 4-23-75 720 A 5 2 Sharp-Tailed Grouse 1 1 IN 3dE 0 )i d. 4 4— ±0— / 4 7 0 n 1 d\J A 0 1 7 1 0 "I M IN 3DE r> io 4— ID— { 4 'yon ( 2U A 0 n d u Q J.4 i 0 ^ 17 3 ^-di- I 4 7 0 n ( dl) V D 0 0 ± h j DlL, ± U ^-di- 1 4 ion ■IT V -i-D 1 7 -L !? 5 2N 37E 30 3_29-74 720 V 16 13 5 6 3N 36E 10 4-1-74 720 V 14 11 9 7 3N 37E 7 4-9-74 720 A 16 20 8 IN 37E 25 3-26-74 722 V 12 14 9 9 IN 38E 27 3-26-74 722 P 9 15 7 10 IN 38E 31 3-26-74 722 V 7 15 4 11 IN 38E 36 3-26-74 722 V 15 20 17 12 2N 37E 14 3-27-74 722 A 13 26 32 13 2N 38E 30 3-27-74 722 A 12 9 13 14 3N 37E 1 3-27-74 722 A 16 20 15 4N 38E 30 3-27-74 722 A 10 6 16 5N 37E 27 3-27-74 722 A 16 17 2N 38E 17 3-31-74 722 A 12 7 18 2N 38E 22 3-31-74 722 A 8 19 3N 37E 25 3-31-74 722 A 16 10 20 3N 38E 22 3-31-74 722 A 12 2 21 3N 37E 23 4-3-75 722 A 18 22 IN 38E 23 4-10-75 722 V 8 3 Table 28 Continued. c • Ground Location Date Hunting Male Birds Attend i no- SPi^i^^ Number T R s Located District Methodl/ 1^74 197f 19?6 Sharp-Tailed 23 3N 36e iH i|-i5_75 720 Grouse 24 IN 37E 13 4-12-75 722 Ground Location Number T R S 23 3N 36E 14 /-K 1, 24 IN 37E 13 25 IN 37E 27 26 IN 3oE 34 27 IS 37E 9 28 4N 37E 31 29 4n 36E 12 30 5N 37E 18 31 6n 36E 25 32 IN 36E 13 33 IS 37E 11 34 3N 37E 35 35 3N 37E 14 36 4n 37E 13 _ 1975 19TF V - 18 - A - 9 2 4-12-75 722 A - 9 8 4-12-75 722 A -30 15 4-12-75 720 A - 8 6 4-23-75 720 A - 10 9 11-23-75 720 A - 10 10 4-23-75 720 A • - 16 14 4- 23-75 720 A - 13 18 5- 5-75 720 p _ 12 15 4-7-76 720 A - _ 7 4-7-76 722 A - - 20 4-8-76 722 A . - - 10 ^-8-76 722 A _ . 1/ A= Airplane; V = Vehicle; P = Foot Appendix Table 29. Climatological data from the Hysham 25 55E weather station during the third year of the study. Temperature Precipitation F^f^^ *^ n n O ^ CL O W 1 i Mnn i" Vi I'HJ 1 i Oil 1 t:cix high Low Below :id over 90 Total Snow winter Dec . 1975 23.0 56 -21 11 0 1.17 25.8 T Q n U Clll • 1 Q7 £1 U . 3 -I n 11 u 0 . 67 15 .7 P c u • ±y 1 0 D ± 0 — 0 0 0 . 91 5.8 Spring Mar . 1976 30.5 65 -22 7 0 0.41 5.0 Apr. 1976 46.3 80 17 0 0 1.29 4.0 May 1976 55.0 86 23 0 0 1.93 0.0 Summer June 1976 61.0 90 36 0 1 4.14 0.0 July 1976 71.8 106 39 0 18 0.27 0.0 Aug. 1976 69.3 103 36 0 15 0.96 0.0 Pall Sept . 1976 58.9 96 20 0 5 0.92 0.0 Oct . 1976 42.2 85 8 1 0 1.52 9.3 Nov . 1976 30.5 67 -24 4 0 0.77 12.5 Appendix Table 30. Sharp-tailed grouse neckbanded In the Sarpy Creek and Colstrip vicinities in 1976, Area Dancing Ground Sarpy Creek-^ 25 Date Banded Neckband Number 3^/ Leg Band Number Age Class Sex 5-17-76 YB 13 F 661^7 Juvenile Male YB 19 P 66144 Juvenile Male YB 20 P 66148 Juvenile Male YB 21 P 66146 Juvenile Male YB 22 P 66145 Juvenile Male YB 23 F 66150 Adult Male 5-17-76 Three birds banded ; information unavailable Colstripi/ 3 5- -4-76 RB 14 F 66106 Adult Male RB 15 F 66117 Adult Male nrS ID XT' DollO Juvenile Male RB 17 P 66119 Juvenile Male RB 18 F 66120 Juvenile Male RB 19 P 66121 Adult Male RB 20 F 66122 Adult Male RB 21 F 66123 Adult Male 4 5- ■4-76 WR 9 F 66124 Adult Male WR 10 F 66125 Juvenile Male WR 14 F 66126 Juvenile Male WR 15 F 66110 Juvenile Male WR 16 F 66111 Adult Male 7 5- ■4-76 YB 15 P 66112 Adult Male YB 16 F 66113 Juvenile Male YB 17 F 66114 Adult Male YB 18 F 66115 Adult Male 8 5- 3-76 OW 14 P 66101 Juvenile Male OW 15 F 66102 Juvenile Male OW 16 P 66103 Juvenile Male OW 17 P 66104 Juvenile Male OW 18 P 66105 Juvenile Male OW 19 P 66106 Juvenile Male 16 5- 4-76 WB 17 F 66107 Adult Male WB 18 P 66108 Juvenile Male WB 19 F 66109 Juvenile Male -73- Appendix Table 30 continued. Area Dancing Date Ground Banded Neckband Number 3./ Leg Band Number Age Class Sex Colstrlp (continued) 19 5-5-76 BB 13 BB 14 BB 15 BB 16 BB 17 BB 18 BB 19 BB 20 BB 21 F 66131 F 66132 F 66133 P 66134 F 66135 F 66136 F 66137 F 66138 F 66139 Juvenile Juvenile Adult Juvenile Adult Adult Juvenile Juvenile Adult Male Male Male Male Male Male Male Male Male 1/ Austin R. 1977 2/ Schwarzkoph W. 1977 V YB - yellow band with black numbers RB - red band with black numbers WR - white bands with red numbers OW - orange bands with white numbers WB - white bands with black numbers BB - blue bands with black numbers -74-