Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) Report : Hellsgate Project, 1999-2000 Technical Report.
A Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) study was conducted on lands acquired and/or managed (4,568 acres total) by the Hellsgate Big Game Winter Range Wildlife Mitigation Project (Hellsgate project) to mitigate some of the losses associated with the original construction and operation of Grand Coulee Dam and inundation of habitats behind the dams. Three separate properties, totaling 2,224 acres were purchased in 1998. One property composed of two separate parcels, mostly grassland lies southeast of the town of Nespelem in Okanogan County (770 acres) and was formerly called the Hinman property. The former Hinman property lies within an area the Tribes have set aside for the protection and preservation of the sharp-tailed grouse (Agency Butte unit). This special management area minus the Hinman acquisition contains 2,388 acres in a long-term lease with the Tribes. The second property lies just south of the Silver Creek turnoff (Ferry County) and is bisected by the Hellsgate Road (part of the Friedlander unit). This parcel contains 60 acres of riparian and conifer forest cover. The third property (now named the Sand Hills unit) acquired for mitigation (1,394 acres) lies within the Hellsgate Reserve in Ferry County. This new acquisition links two existing mitigation parcels (the old Sand Hills parcels and the Lundstrum Flat parcel, all former Kuehne purchases) together forming one large unit. HEP team members included individuals from the Colville Confederated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Department (CTCR), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The HEP team conducted a baseline habitat survey using the following HEP species models: mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), mink (Mustela vison), downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), bobcat (Lynx rufus), yellow warbler (Dendroica petechia), and sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus). HEP analysis and results are discussed within the body of the text. The cover types evaluated for this study were grasslands, shrub-steppe, rock, conifer forest and woodland, and riparian. These same cover types were evaluated for other Hellsgate Project acquisitions within the same geographic area. Mule deer habitat on the Sand Hills unit rated good overall for winter food and cover in the shrub-steppe and conifer woodland cover types. Sharp-tailed grouse habitat on the former Hinman property and special management area rated good for nesting and brood rearing in the grassland cover type. Mink habitat on the Friedlander parcel rated poor due to lack of food and cover in and along the riparian cover type. The Downy woodpecker rated poor for food and cover on the Friedlander parcel in the conifer forest cover type. This species also rated poor on the conifer woodland habitat on the Hinman parcel. Yellow warbler habitat on the Agency Butte Special Management area rated very poor due to lack of shrubs for cover and reproduction around the scattered semi/permanent ponds that occur on the area. Bobcat habitat on this same area rated poor due to lack of cover and food. Fragmentation of existing quality habitat is also a problem for both these species. This report is an analysis of baseline habitat conditions on mitigation and managed lands, and provides estimated habitat units for mitigation crediting purposes. In addition, this information will be used to manage these lands for the benefit of wildlife.
- Research Organization:
- Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Portland, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 944998
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/BP-63210-2; R&D Project: 199204800; TRN: US200903%%47
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: [HEP Report] Hellsgate Winter Range Baseline HEP Survey
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) Report : Rainwater Wildlife Area, 1998-2001 Technical Report.
Rainwater Wildlife Area Habitat Evaluation Procedures Report; A Columbia Basin Wildlife Mitigation Project.