gray wolf habitat suitability analysis for northern...

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85% 15% Percent Wolf Habitat Area with Potential for Wolf-Livestock Conflict High Conflict Potential Low Conflict Potential Gray Wolf Habitat Suitability Analysis for Northern California Tobias Nickel, Environmental Studies Major, University of San Diego California Wolf Center Conservation, Education, Research Deer Density Public Land Population Density Road Density Cattle Density Sheep Density Methods Introduction In August of 2015, a trail camera captured photos of five wolf pups and two adults in Siskiyou County. They were named the ”Shasta pack.” The gray wolf (Canis lupus) historically used to be native to all of North America . 1 By 1960, wolves had been extirpated from the conterminous U.S. with the exception of a small population in Minnesota. 1 Since gaining protection under the Endangered Species Act, wolf populations have slowly recovered and begun to recolonize parts of their former range. 1 An increase in wolf populations in the Pacific Northwest has resulted in a few wolves dispersing into Northern California to seek out new habitat. These dispersing wolves have generated a high level of public interest. 2 The California Department of Fish & Wildlife has begun a planning process for gray wolf management to address concerns that arrive with the presence of wolves, such as wolf-livestock conflicts, maintenance of prey sources and conserving a sustainable population. 2 Another concern is that wolves are returning to a different landscape here in California today after almost 100 years of absence. Much of the habitat once occupied by wolves has been developed or converted to agriculture. Road densities have increased substantially, and the population of California has grown to over 38 million people. 2 The objective of this study was to explore the prospects for wolf recovery in Northern California . ArcMap (ESRI, Redlands,CA), a Geospatial Information System (GIS), was used to identify suitable habitat for gray wolves and potential wolf-livestock conflict areas. I thank the staff from the California Wolf Center , especially Erin Hunt , John Murtaugh and Heidi Pankratz, for being such supportive mentors and providing me with a positive and meaningful internship experience during the summer of 2015. I also thank Dr. Suzanne Walther from the University of San Diego for being a passionate and caring GIS instructor during the previous semesters. 1 Mech, D.L., and L. Boitani. 2003. Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. University of Chicago Press. 448 pp. 2 California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2015. Draft Conservation Plan for Gray Wolves in California Part 1. 23 pp. 3 Mech, L.D. 1989. Wolf population survival in an area of high road density. American Midland Naturalist 121:387-389. 4 Mladenoff, D.J., T.A. Sickley, R.G. Haight, and A.P. Wydeven. 1995. A regional landscape analysis and prediction of favorable gray wolf habitat in northern Great Lakes region. Conservation Biology 9:279-294. 5 Thiel, R.P. 1985. Relationship between road densities and wolf habitat suitability in Wisconsin. American Midland Naturalist 113:404-407. 6 Oakleaf, J.K., Murray, D.L., Oakleaf, J.R., Bangs, E.E., Mack, C.M., Smith, D.W., Fontaine, J.A., Jimenez, M.D., Meier, T.J. and C.C. Niemeyer. 2006. Habitat Selection by Recolonizing Wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:554–563. 7 Larsen, T., and W.J. Ripple. 2006. Modeling gray wolf ( Canis lupus) habitat in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. Journal of Conservation Planning 2:17-33. Wolves are habitat generalists and, therefore, can live in most places in North America that have a sufficient prey base (primarily large ungulates). 1 Conflicts typically occur, however, when they occupy areas close to humans. 3 The majority of wolf mortality in the wild is human- caused. 3 Identifying favorable wolf habitat thus becomes a process of locating areas that contain sufficient prey and provide security from humans to lessen conflict. 4 Gray Wolf Habitat To determine suitable habitat for wolves in Northern California, five variables were examined: prey density (primarily deer in this region), public land ownership, forest cover, road density and human population density. To identify potential wolf-livestock conflict areas, sheep density, cattle density and land use (agricultural and rangeland) data was also taken into account. Data was acquired from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, California Department of Transportation, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The data was converted into GIS layers through table joins between excel datasheets and shapefiles containing administrative boundaries, using the spatial unit name as the join key. Density tools and several geoprocessing functions (clip, dissolve, merge, etc.) were performed to pretreat the layers for further spatial analysis. Thresholds were determined for each variable based on previous research to reclassify attributes into favorable and unfavorable conditions for wolves. 3,4,5,6,7 The intersect tool was then used to identify areas in which favorable wolf habitat attributes overlapped. Areas of overlap were then classified into “best,” “good” and ”intermediate” wolf habitat based on how many favorable attribute values intersected in a given area. Similarly, to identify potential conflict zones, the intersect tool was used to overlay livestock data with predicted wolf habitat. 7% 15% 21% 57% Percent of Suitable Wolf Habitat "Best" Wolf Habitat "Good" Wolf Habitat "Intermediate" Wolf Habitat "Poor" Wolf Habitat Results & Conclusion The results indicate that Northern California has substantial amount of suitable wolf habitat , with most of the highest quality habitat located in the Klamath Mountains in Northwestern California. Large areas of public land and forest cover combined with low road and human population densities all favor wolf recolonization. However, the small elk population and depressed deer populations are problematic , especially in the northeastern portion of California. (Elk density was not included in this study, because elk populations are patchy and the vast majority of prey biomass for wolves in this region will consist of deer.) Moreover, while sheep densities are low, high cattle densities generate high potential for wolf-livestock conflicts. Significant funding and effort will be necessary to implement nonlethal livestock protection methods to minimize predation on livestock. Low prey density and high potential for conflict indicate that the region can only support a relatively small wolf population. Wolf densities can vary tremendously, ranging from less than 5 wolves per 1,000 km 2 near the arctic circle to over 50 wolves per 1,000 km 2 in prey-rich areas. Applying an equation that relates wolf density to prey abundance, wolf habitat identified in the study area can support an average of 12 wolves per 1,000 km 2 . 1 The total potential habitat is 54,048 km 2 , meaning that Northern California would be able to support 649 wolves. However, this does not account for habitat fragmentation, edge effects and the need for core areas. The reality is that the biological carrying capacity hinges on the political will of the people, regulatory decisions of government agencies and the willingness of humans to share the landscape with this apex predator. Acknowledgements & References Potential Gray Wolf Habitat & Wolf-Livestock Conflict Areas

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Page 1: Gray Wolf Habitat Suitability Analysis for Northern Californiageotechcenter.org/uploads/2/4/8/8/24886299/nickel_poster.pdfWolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. University of

85%

15%

Percent Wolf Habitat Area with Potential for Wolf-Livestock Conflict

High Conflict Potential

Low Conflict Potential

Gray Wolf Habitat Suitability Analysis for Northern CaliforniaTobias Nickel, Environmental Studies Major, University of San Diego

California Wolf Center

Conservation, Education, Research

Deer Density Public Land Population Density Road Density Cattle Density Sheep Density

Methods

Introduction

In August of 2015, a trail camera captured photos of five wolf pups and two adults in Siskiyou County. They were named the ”Shasta pack.”

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) historically usedto be native to all of North America.1 By1960, wolves had been extirpated fromthe conterminous U.S. with the exceptionof a small population in Minnesota.1 Sincegaining protection under the EndangeredSpecies Act, wolf populations have slowlyrecovered and begun to recolonize partsof their former range.1 An increase in wolfpopulations in the Pacific Northwest hasresulted in a few wolves dispersing intoNorthern California to seek out newhabitat. These dispersing wolves havegenerated a high level of public interest.2The California Department of Fish & Wildlifehas begun a planning process for gray wolfmanagement to address concerns thatarrive with the presence of wolves, such aswolf-livestock conflicts, maintenance ofprey sources and conserving a sustainablepopulation.2 Another concern is that wolvesare returning to a different landscapehere in California today after almost 100years of absence. Much of the habitatonce occupied by wolves has beendeveloped or converted to agriculture. Roaddensities have increased substantially, andthe population of California has grown toover 38 million people.2 The objective of thisstudy was to explore the prospects forwolf recovery in Northern California.ArcMap (ESRI, Redlands,CA), a GeospatialInformation System (GIS), was used toidentify suitable habitat for gray wolves andpotential wolf-livestock conflict areas.

I thank the staff from the California Wolf Center, especially Erin Hunt, John Murtaugh and HeidiPankratz, for being such supportive mentors and providing me with a positive and meaningful internshipexperience during the summer of 2015. I also thank Dr. Suzanne Walther from the University of San Diegofor being a passionate and caring GIS instructor during the previous semesters.1 Mech, D.L., and L. Boitani. 2003. Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. University of Chicago Press. 448 pp.2 California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2015. Draft Conservation Plan for Gray Wolves in California Part 1. 23 pp.3 Mech, L.D. 1989. Wolf population survival in an area of high road density. American Midland Naturalist121:387-389.4 Mladenoff, D.J., T.A. Sickley, R.G. Haight, and A.P. Wydeven. 1995. A regional landscape analysis and prediction of favorable gray wolf habitat in northern Great Lakes region. Conservation Biology 9:279-294.5 Thiel, R.P. 1985. Relationship between road densities and wolf habitat suitability in Wisconsin. American Midland Naturalist 113:404-407.6 Oakleaf, J.K., Murray, D.L., Oakleaf, J.R., Bangs, E.E., Mack, C.M., Smith, D.W., Fontaine, J.A., Jimenez, M.D., Meier, T.J. and C.C. Niemeyer. 2006. Habitat Selection by Recolonizing Wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:554–563.7 Larsen, T., and W.J. Ripple. 2006. Modeling gray wolf (Canis lupus) habitat in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. Journal of Conservation Planning 2:17-33.

Wolves are habitat generalists and,therefore, can live in most places in NorthAmerica that have a sufficient prey base(primarily large ungulates).1 Conflictstypically occur, however, when they occupyareas close to humans.3 The majority ofwolf mortality in the wild is human-caused.3 Identifying favorable wolf habitatthus becomes a process of locating areasthat contain sufficient prey and providesecurity from humans to lessen conflict.4

Gray Wolf Habitat

To determine suitable habitat for wolves in Northern California, five variables were examined:prey density (primarily deer in this region), public land ownership, forest cover, road densityand human population density. To identify potential wolf-livestock conflict areas, sheepdensity, cattle density and land use (agricultural and rangeland) data was also taken intoaccount. Data was acquired from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, CaliforniaDepartment of Forestry & Fire Protection, California Department of Transportation, U.S. Bureauof Land Management, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey and theU.S. Department of Agriculture. The data was converted into GIS layers through table joinsbetween excel datasheets and shapefiles containing administrative boundaries, using the spatialunit name as the join key. Density tools and several geoprocessing functions (clip, dissolve,merge, etc.) were performed to pretreat the layers for further spatial analysis. Thresholds weredetermined for each variable based on previous research to reclassify attributes into favorableand unfavorable conditions for wolves.3,4,5,6,7 The intersect tool was then used to identify areasin which favorable wolf habitat attributes overlapped. Areas of overlap were then classified into“best,” “good” and ”intermediate” wolf habitat based on how many favorable attribute valuesintersected in a given area. Similarly, to identify potential conflict zones, the intersect tool wasused to overlay livestock data with predicted wolf habitat.

7%

15%

21%57%

Percent of Suitable Wolf Habitat"Best" Wolf Habitat

"Good" Wolf Habitat

"Intermediate" Wolf Habitat

"Poor" Wolf Habitat

Results & ConclusionThe results indicate that Northern California has substantial amount of suitable wolf habitat,with most of the highest quality habitat located in the Klamath Mountains in NorthwesternCalifornia. Large areas of public land and forest cover combined with low road and humanpopulation densities all favor wolf recolonization. However, the small elk population anddepressed deer populations are problematic, especially in the northeastern portion ofCalifornia. (Elk density was not included in this study, because elk populations are patchy andthe vast majority of prey biomass for wolves in this region will consist of deer.) Moreover, whilesheep densities are low, high cattle densities generate high potential for wolf-livestockconflicts. Significant funding and effort will be necessary to implement nonlethal livestockprotection methods to minimize predation on livestock. Low prey density and high potentialfor conflict indicate that the region can only support a relatively small wolf population. Wolfdensities can vary tremendously, ranging from less than 5 wolves per 1,000 km2 near the arcticcircle to over 50 wolves per 1,000 km2 in prey-rich areas. Applying an equation that relates wolfdensity to prey abundance, wolf habitat identified in the study area can support an average of12 wolves per 1,000 km2.1 The total potential habitat is 54,048 km2, meaning that NorthernCalifornia would be able to support 649 wolves. However, this does not account for habitatfragmentation, edge effects and the need for core areas. The reality is that the biologicalcarrying capacity hinges on the political will of the people, regulatory decisions of governmentagencies and the willingness of humans to share the landscape with this apex predator.

Acknowledgements & References

Potential Gray Wolf Habitat & Wolf-Livestock Conflict Areas