Northwest Montana Wildlife Habitat Enhancement: Hungry Horse Elk Mitigation Project: Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.

Technical Report · Sat Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5783972· OSTI ID:5783972

Casey, Daniel; Malta, Patrick

Portions of two important elk (Cervus elaphus) winter ranges totalling 8749 acres were lost due to the construction of the Hungry Horse Dam hydroelectric facility. This habitat loss decreased the carrying capacity of the both the elk and the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). In 1985, using funds from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) as authorized by the Northwest Power Act, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) completed a wildlife mitigation plan for Hungry Horse Reservoir. This plan identified habitat enhancement of currently-occupied winter range as the most cost-efficient, easily implemented mitigation alternative available to address these large-scale losses of winter range. The Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, as amended in 1987, authorized BPA to fund winter range enhancement to meet an adjusted goal of 133 additional elk. A 28-month advance design phase of the BPA-funded project was initiated in September 1987. Primary goals of this phase of the project included detailed literature review, identification of enhancement areas, baseline (elk population and habitat) data collection, and preparation of 3-year and 10-year implementation plans. This document will serve as a site-specific habitat and population monitoring plan which outlines our recommendations for evaluating the results of enhancement efforts against mitigation goals. 25 refs., 13 figs., 7 tabs.

• Research Organization: Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MDFWP)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Bonneville Power Administration
• DOE Contract Number: BI79-87BP36136
• OSTI ID: 5783972
• Report Number(s): DOE/BP-36136-3; ON: DE91013506
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

13 HYDRO ENERGY
130600* -- Hydro Energy-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540250 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
ANIMALS
BASELINE ECOLOGY
COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN
DEER
ECOLOGY
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Elk - Habitat - Montana
GRAZING
HABITAT
HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
MAMMALS
OPTIMIZATION
POPULATION DYNAMICS
POWER PLANTS
RANGELANDS
RUMINANTS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
VERTEBRATES
WILD ANIMALS