Survey of Forest Bats in Managed Coniferous Forests of North-Central Idaho

  • Baker, Michael (PI)
  • Lacki, Michael (CoI)

Grants and Contracts Details

Description

Two Sentence Summary: Current knowledge of the bat species assemblage inhabiting Idaho forests is limited and maternity colonies of forest mvotis have not been located. This proiect "",ill use mist-net sampling and radiotelemetrY to quantify relative abundance among bat species. estimate timing of reproductive stages ofIdaho forest bats. and locate structures used as davroosts by female Al volans and Ai/.thvsanodes. Project Statement Project Statement Components Need: The harvest and processing of timber is a significant element of the industrial economic base of northwestern states, including Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Managed forests in this region are under increasing pressure to simultaneously provide timber resources and habitat for a wide array of wildlife species. Given these pressures, the principles of ecosystem management and its equivalent necessitate inventory and monitoring of populations of forest wildlife species. Timber harvests in the northwestern U.S. occur on lands of various ownership, including state, national forests, and private industry. This diversity of forest ownership, combined with differing legislative mandates, has resulted in a mix of regulatory criteria associated with timber extraction from within or near riparian corridors of this region. The primary tree species include ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), grand fir (Abies grandis), lodgepole pine (P. contorta), and western larch (Larix occidentalis). Snags of several of these species have been shown to serve as roosting sites for several forest bat species. Information on population status is lacking for most species of forest bats in the northwestern U.S., including north-central Idaho "",heredata on species occurrence are limited to agency reports focused primarily on use of caves and abandoned mines (Keller 2000). Fourteen species of bats are expected to inhabit forests in Idaho based on reports and historical records. Because forest bats switch roosts frequently (Lewis 1995), reliable data from which to assess changes in population size are difficult to acquire (Hayes 2003). In lieu of such information, forest resource managers require, at a minimum, basic information on species composition to assess the potential range of impacts that management activities might have on forest bats. Likewise, information on population ,structure of forest bat species can be useful in providing an improved understanding of differential use of forest habitat among sex and age classes. These data will be acquired for the study areas surveyed in the proposed study. Some of the legislation or policies affecting forest management include the Northwest Forest Plan, the Columbia River Basin Assessment, and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (with amendments), among others. In aggregate, these laws and policies suggest that two key elements are central to preservation of the integrity of fish and wildlife habitat in forests of the northwest: no-harvest buffer strips immediately adjacent to streams to protect aquatic ecosystems, and retention of snags, large-diameter live trees and downed logs for sustaining structural habitat diversity of riparian-dwelling terrestrial wildlife. The location and monitoring
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date3/1/0412/31/04

Fingerprint

Explore the research topics touched on by this project. These labels are generated based on the underlying awards/grants. Together they form a unique fingerprint.