s 599.7 F2GBE 1991 STATE DOCUMENTS COLLECT! 20 2004 MONTANA STATE LIBRARY 1515 E. 6th AVE. HFLENA, MONTANA 59620 m Elk G^l-S ProJect Annual Report 19 m 9 1 m DATE DUE GRANITE BUTTE ELK GIS PROJECT PROGRESS REPORT May 1991 MAINTENANCE OF ELK HABITAT - RECOVERY OF PUBLIC HUNTING OPPORTUNITY Granite Butte Project Area - Granite Butte center background. Cellar Gulch and Ogilvie Gulch in foreground. PROJECT SPONSORS: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) - Missoula, MT Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MDFWP) -Region 8 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - Butte Area Office Helena National Forest (HNF) - Helena Seven-Up Pete Venture - Lincoln Prepared by: Gayle Joslin, Wildlife Biologist Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks I I I I I I i i t I II TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables iii List of Figures iii Introduction 1 Area Description 4 Resource Conditions 4 Elk 4 Timber Harvest 5 Roads 6 Livestock Grazing 6 Mineral Development 7 Military Training Exercises 8 Rural Development 8 Project Development 8 Charter 8 Schedule of Tasks 9 Supporting Information 9 Methods 10 GIS Development 10 Systems 10 Base Themes 10 Resource and Use Themes 10 Elk Inventory 12 Elk Marking 12 Elk Monitoring 13 Elk Data Analysis 14 Elk-Public Involvement 15 Results 15 GIS Development 15 Base Themes 15 Resource and Use Themes 15 Promotion 19 Elk Inventory 21 Marking 21 Monitoring 22 Public Involvement 25 Recommendations 27 i Project Projections FY92 27 Project Tasks 27 Financial Contributions 28 FY91 Contributions 28 FY92 Budget Request 28 Conclusion 29 . Literature Cited 31 Appendix 32 ii LIST OF TABLES .... 1. Elk captured and marked in hunting district 439 20 .... 2. Elk captured and marked in hunting district 443 21 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Granite Butte GIS Elk Project Area and Elk Management Unit 3 2. Nevada Mountain ridge, North Fork Little Prickly Pear Creek clearcut, valley bottom agriculture 5 3. Sears Creek cutting units with logging road accessing drainage head, Granite Butte in background 6 4. Unocal exploratory well on Lyons Mountain, October 1989 7 . 5. West North Hills open grassland habitat type (low elk security) and Little Prickly Pear Creek valley bottom depicting intensive agriculture 11 6. Elk security is provided by dense vegetation, topographic relief and low road densities along the Continental Divide 12 7. Land ownership and land line base themes - GIS generated map of Granite Butte quad 16 8. Six mapped base themes (landlines, lakes, streams, boundaries, land ownership, transportation) - GIS generated map of Granite Butte quad 17 9. Vegetation base theme - GIS generated map of Granite Butte quad 18 .... 10. Poster display of Granite Butte GIS Elk Project 19 11. Granite Butte elk distribution - observations recorded during spring 23 12. Granite Butte elk distribution - observations recorded during calving 23 iii 13. Granite Butte elk distribution - observations recorded during summer 24 14. Granite Butte elk distribution - observations recorded during fall 24 . 15. Granite Butte elk distribution - observations recorded during winter 25 iv . . INTRODUCTION Land and wildlife management issues are growing increasingly complex, and as resource demands escalate, the need to make expedient, accurate resource decisions grows more acute. A method to store and integrate resource information is necessary if elk populations and habitat needs are to be met and hunter opportunity maintained. Efforts to integrate land use projects, elk seasonal needs, hunter opportunity, and the burdens of private landowners in accomodating these factors, prompted wildlife biologists from the sponsoring agencies to begin consolodating databases into a Geographic Information System (GIS) Cooperative financial support for this project has been provided by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) Seven-Up Pete Venture (a , project of Phelps Dodge Corp.), BLM, HNF, and MDFWP. Technical support has also been provided by Lewis and Clark County, Powell County, USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Montana State Natural , Resources Information Service (NRIS) and Montana Department of , State Lands (MDSL) Recognition is extended to all individuals who . have worked on this project (Appendix A) The Granite Butte Elk GIS Project, originated as a melding and evolution of two separate projects: the Elk Management Unit planning effort of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MDFWP) and an energy exploration impact analysis upon elk in the , Sieben Ranch-Sleeping Giant area. The latter project was carried out with support through the Bureau of Land Management from the Unocal Corporation, a subsidiary of Union Oil Inc. These projects expanded into a Challenge Cost Share cooperative elk/land use study between MDFWP, BLM and the Helena National Forest (HNF) in 1989, and further evolved into the Granite Butte Elk GIS Project in 1990. The Granite Butte Elk Project is a cooperative effort to develop and maintain a comprehensive, multi-owner data base to facilitate environmental analysis of proposed actions. Public interest in elk, and the fact that elk quickly respond to changes in environmental conditions, provide the rationale and focus for this project. The GOAL of this project, as defined in the project Charter (Appx 2) , is to ensure that elk and elk habitat will continue to be an important aspect of Montana's heritage, to be enjoyed by the people of Montana and visitors to the state. Toward that goal, this pilot project is designed to: • Maintain or improve elk populations and habitat, elk hunting opportunity and elk-related experiences within the Granite Butte Unit by developing close coordination between participants 1 . • Develop means to identify cumulative impacts of proposed actions upon elk, their habitat, and recreation opportunity, and recommend cooperative actions to be implemented by land and wildlife management agencies • Test the feasibility and applicability of this approach to other areas. OBJECTIVES of this project are to: • Develop a coordinated approach to management of elk and elk habitat on public lands • Devise management strategies to minimize displacement of elk from public to private lands and consequently reduce private landowner concerns • Enhance public opportunities to hunt, view and otherwise enjoy elk on public lands and maintain or improve public hunting opportunity on private lands • Facilitate the exchange of information between land managers needed for cumulative effects analyses • Develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) data base planning tool to help accomplish these objectives • Promote public understanding and appreciation of elk habitat needs using GIS generated graphic displays of elk habitat and land uses in the Granite Butte Unit The GIS technology will contribute to project goals and objectives by visually displaying the seasonal distribution, habitat and security needs of elk, and the impacts of habitat modifications from competing land uses. Additionally, this project will identify cumulative impacts to elk habitat and hunting opportunity. This will provide a framework to recommend preventive and/or remedial actions to management agencies. The most recent information available for the area can be displayed using GIS technology. It will be a valuable device in fostering resolution of complex interagency issues. This cooperative approach will illustrate the impact on elk habitat from competing uses, and will propose options to balance elk habitat necessities while accommodating other uses. This technology will illustrate the demands being made upon the land, and will help identify problems that management prescriptions must resolve 2