2002 ANNUAL REPORT USGS Biological Resources Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit College of Natural Resources Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-5290

2002 ANNUAL REPORT USGS Biological Resources Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit College of Natural Resources Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-5290 2003 Coordinating Meeting College of Natural Resources Utah State University 9-10 April 2003 Cooperators: USGS Biological Resources Utah Division of Wildlife Resources CNR Utah State University Wildlife Management Institute U S Fish & Wildlife Service 2003 Annual Coordinating Committee Meeting Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit College of Natural Resources Dean’s Conference Room, NR 108 Utah State University, Logan, UT Rotating Chair: 1992:USU, 1993:NBS, 1994:UDWR, 1995:WMI, 1996:USU, 1997:USGS, 1998:UDWR, 1999:WMI, 2000:USU, 2001:USGS, 2002:UDWR, 2003:WMI THURSDAY, 10 APRIL 2003 8:30-9:30 Continental Breakfast (Dean’s Conference Room NR 108) 9:30-9:40 Introductions and Meeting Overview 9:40-11:00 2003 Unit Productivity (J Bissonette, T Edwards, P Budy) 11:00-12:15 Utah Division of Wildlife Resources MANAGING FOR FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE IN UTAH IN A CHALLENGING FISCAL ENVIRONMENT Director Kevin Conway & UDWR personnel 12:15-1:00 Catered Lunch in the Dean’s Conference Room NE 108 1:00-1:45 Tour of new Spatial analysis Lab and ‘Bug” Lab 1:45-2:00 U S Geological Survey WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE COOPERATIVE RESEARCH UNITS Lynn Haines 2:00-2:30 Break & Conversation 2:45-4:00 College of Natural Resources CHALLENGES AND INTIATIVES AT THE COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES Dean Fee Busby Department Heads: Dave Roberts, Chris Luecke, Terry Sharik 4:00-5:00 5:00 Coordinating Committee Closed Meeting Departure 2002 ANNUAL REPORT USGS Biological Resources Division Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit College of Natural Resources Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-5290 2002 Research Activities of the Unit Staff John A Bissonette Thomas C Edwards Phaedra E Budy Personnel Cooperators – Coordinating Committee United States Geological Survey Lynn Haines, Mid-Continent / Western Supervisor U.S.D.I Cooperative Research Units c/o FWS, Denver Research Center P.O Box 25486, Denver, CO 80225 Lynn_Haines@usgs.gov 303-236-4816 Fax 303-236-7982 Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Kevin Conway, Director Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 1594 West North Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6301 robinthomas@utah.gov 801-538-4705 Fax 801-538-4709 Utah State University F.E “Fee” Busby, Dean College of Natural Resources Utah State University Logan, UT 84322-5200 feebusby@cnr.usu.edu 797-2452 Fax: 801-797-2443 Wildlife Management Institute Len Carpenter SW Field Director 4015 Cheney Drive Fort Collins, CO 80526 lenc@verinet.com 970- 223-1099 Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit Staff John A Bissonette Leader & Professor Forestry, Range, and Wildlife Sciences Department john.bissonette@cnr.usu.edu Thomas C Edwards, Jr Assistant Leader Wildlife & Associate Professor Forestry, Range, and Wildlife Sciences Department tce@nr.usu.edu Phaedra E Budy Assistant Leader Fisheries & Assistant Professor Aquatic, Watershed, and Earth Resources Department phaedra.budy@cnr.usu.edu Esther Biesinger Business Manager College of Natural Resources esther.biesinger@usu.edu Shauna Leavitt Staff Assistant Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit sleavitt@cc.usu.wdu Mission Statement Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit 2003 The major limiting influences upon fishery and wildlife resources in the Intermountain West are terrestrial habitat degradation, loss of open space, and watershed and water issues Loss of winter range for big game by urban development on open space, degradation and loss of riparian areas by agricultural practices, loss of wildlife rangeland habitat by practices such as sagebrush removal and the planting of cattle forage, as well as change of reservoir and riverine habitat through activities associated with hydroelectric and water delivery systems are the major factors that have and will continue to affect natural resource management in Utah in years to come Rapid population growth in the state has exacerbated the pressures on both the terrestrial and aquatic resource Given these trends and the expertise of Unit personnel, the primary mission of the Unit is to address the urban landscape interface, as well as food web and habitat related problems relating to the fishery and wildlife resources of Utah and the Intermountain West Cooperating Faculty in the Department, College, and University will continue to be integrated into Unit research to apply diverse expertise to all facets of a research problem Expertise in sociological science, survey methodology, as well as other pertinent fields, can be brought to bear on resource problems The primary motivation of the Unit is to solve pressing resource problems Technical expertise of the Unit staff includes: larger scale dynamics, geographical information system and habitat restoration methodology, terrestrial habitat analysis, population management and assessment, aquatic habitat ecology, fish population dynamics, aquatic food web dynamics, and quantitative study design Our research activities focus on landscape-level habitat studies, ecological modeling of lake, reservoir, and riverine systems, and avian and terrestrial ecology Future research directions of the Unit will continue to involve endangered fish and wildlife species, sustainable game and sport fish management, terrestrial and aquatic riparian studies, migratory non-game bird research, geographical information system methodology, and landscape-level studies involving modeling for future scenarios Graduate level courses being taught by unit personnel at Utah State University include Design and Analysis of Ecological Research (emphasizes the research process), Topics in Spatial Ecology (emphasizes space from an ecological as well as statistical perspective), Assessment of Fish and Wildlife Populations (emphasizes sampling design and estimation of abundance and survival), and Landscape Ecology (emphasizing theory and application of scale-related influences on wildlife dynamics) Unit personnel are increasingly involved in continuing education/professional advancement short courses for agency personnel The Unit is committed to academic pursuit of cooperator interests, and in particular, the needs of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Yet, the strength of the Unit is directly related to its ability to attract outside funds Research done in the state and region with non-cooperator funds provides added benefits to cooperators This Unit has and will continue to address resource issues associated with its expertise to the benefit of Utah and the resource management community Our primary objective is quality science Unit Productivity USGS Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Productivity January 2002 to 31 December 2002 PUBLICATIONS A SCIENTIFIC PAPERS Bissonette, J A 2002 Scaling roads and wildlife: the Cinderella principle Zeitschrift für Jagdwissenschaft 48(2002):208-214 (supplement) Bissonette, J A., and I Storch 2002 Fragmentation: is the message clear? Conservation Ecology 6(2): 14 [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol6/iss2/art14 Bissonette, J A 2002 Linking landscape patterns to biological reality Pages 15-34 in J A Bissonette and I Storch (eds) Landscape Theory and Resource Management: Linking Theory to Practice Island Press, Covelo, CA Bissonette, J A., T Clevenger, and L Fahrig (no precedence of authorship) 2002 Chapters 5&6, pages 113-167 in Forman, R T.T., D Sperling, M Binford, J Bissonette, T Clevenger, C Cutshall, V Dale, L Fahrig, C Goldman, K Heanue, J Jones, F Swanson, T Turrentine, & T Winter Road Ecology: Science and Solutions Island Press, Covelo CA Budy, P., G.P Thiede, N Bouwes, C Petrosky, and H Schaller 2002 Evidence linking delayed mortality of Snake River salmon to their earlier hydrosystem experience North American Journal of Fisheries Management 22:35-51 Cutler, R., T C Edwards, Jr., J Alegria, and D McKenzie 2002 A sample design framework for Survey and Manage species under the Northwest Forest Plan Proceedings of the Section on Statistics and Environment, 2001 Joint Statistical Meeting, American Statistical Association, Alexandria, Virginia, USA Edwards, T C., Jr., G G Moisen, T S Frescino, and J J Lawler 2002 Modeling multiple ecological scales to link landscape theory to wildlife conservation Pages 153-172 in J A Bissonette and I Storch, editors Landscape ecology and resource management: making the linkages Island Press, Covelo, California, USA Guisan, A., T C Edwards, Jr., and T Hastie, Guest Editors 2002 Advances in GLM/GAM modelling: from species' distribution to environmental management Ecological Modelling (Special Issue) 157:89-341 Guisan, A., T C Edwards, Jr., and T Hastie 2002 Generalized regression modeling in ecological research: setting the scene Ecological Modelling 157:89-100 Lawler, J J., and T C Edwards, Jr 2002 Landscape patterns as predictors of nesting habitat: a test using four species of cavity-nesting birds Landscape Ecoogy 17:233-245 Lawler, J J., and T C Edwards, Jr 2002 Composition of cavity-nesting bird communities in montane aspen woodland fragments: the roles of landscape context and forest structure Condor 104:890-896 Storch, I and J A Bissonette 2002 The problem of linking scales in the use of indicator species in conservation biology Pages 73-92 in Bissonette, J A and I Storch (eds) Landscape Theory and Resource Management: Linking Theory to Practice Island Press, Covelo, CA Books Bissonette, J A., and I Storch, eds 2002 Landscape theory and Resource Management: Linking Theory to Management Island Press, Covelo, CA.463 pages Forman, R T.T., D Sperling, J A Bissonette, A P Clevenger, C D Cutshall, V H Dale, L Fahrig, R France, C R Goldman, K Heanue, J A Jones, F J Swanson, T Turrentine, & T C Winter 2002 Road Ecology; Science and Solutions Island Press, Covelo, CA 481 pages In Press Adair, William A., J A Bissonette, and B Hearn 2003 American marten resting-site characteristics in western Newfoundland Pages xx-xx in Harrison, D J & B Hearn, eds Proceedings Third International Martes Symposium In Press Bassett, S D., and T C Edwards, Jr In press Effect of different sampling schemes on the spatial placement of conservation reserves in Utah, USA Biological Conservation Bissonette, J A In Press Thinking differently at larger ecological scales: developing the strategy Proc 12th Ann Meeting Australasian Wildl Manage Soc., Darwin, Australia DeNormandie, J., and T C Edwards, Jr The umbrella species concept and regional conservation planning in southern California: a comparative study Accepted, Conservation Biology Edwards, T C., Jr., Cutler, R., L Geiser, J Alegria, and D McKenzie Assessing rarity and seral stage association of species with low detectability: lichens in western Oregon and Washington forests Accepted, Ecological Applications Hellgren, E C., and J A Bissonette 2002 Collared peccary Chapter in G A Feldhamer and B Thompson, eds., Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and economics Second edition The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, USA In Press Hunter, L M., M de J Gonzalez, R E Toth, T C Edwards, Jr., and R J, Lilieholm Population and development in the California Mojave Desert: natural habitat implications of alternative futures Accepted, Population Research and Policy Review In Review Bjurlin, C., and J A Bissonette In Review Survival during early life stages of the desert tortoise (gopherus agassizii) in the south-central Mojave Desert Submitted to Journal of Herpetology Budy, P C Luecke, and W A Wurtsbaugh In Review The effects of whole-lake fertilization on the productivity of an oligotrophic nursery lake for endangered salmon Submitted to Oecologia McHugh, P., and P Budy In Review Patterns of spawning habitat selection and site suitability for two populations of Snake River spring chinook salmon Submitted to Transactions of the American Fisheries Society McHugh, P., P Budy, and H Schaller In Review A model-based assessment of the potential response of Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon to habitat improvements Submitted to Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Zakrajsek, E J, and J A Bissonette In Review Ranking the risk of wildlife species to military aircraft Submitted to Wildlife Society Bulleting B TECHNICAL & SEMI-TECHNICAL PAPERS Budy, P., E A de la Hoz, and G P Thiede 2002 Logan River whirling disease study: factors affecting trout population dynamics, abundance, and distribution in the Logan River, Utah Project XIII, Annual Report to Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 67 pages Budy, P., T Haddix, and G P Thiede 2002 Rainbow trout growth and survival in Flaming Gorge Reservoir Project XIV, Annual Report to Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 61 pages Johnson, J A., B A Andres, and J A Bissonette 2002 Breeding bird communities of major mainland rivers in Southeast Alaska Fish and Wildlife Service General Technical Report In Press McHugh, P., and P Budy 2002 A model-based approach to assessing the potential response of chinook salmon to habitat improvements Project Report No Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan Utah 2001(6):1-137 Toth, R E., T C Edwards, Jr., R J Lilieholm, D A Bell, and E R Buteau 2002 Alternative Futures for Utah's Wasatch Front: bioregional planning for the maintenance and conservation of open space Final Project Report No 2002-2, USGS Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT 843232-5290 USA Toth, R E., T C Edwards, Jr., R J Lilieholm, and L M Hunter 2002 The development of alternative future growth scenarios for the California Mojave Desert Final Project Report No 2002-1, USGS Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT 843232-5290 USA C PROJECTS COMPLETED: THESES AND DISSERTATIONS J A Bissonette Mary Hammer 2002 Effectiveness of earthen escape ramps in reducing big game mortality in Utah M.S Thesis, Utah State University, 65 pages Adam Switalski 2002 Coyote foraging ecology, vigilance, and behavioral cascades in response to gray wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park M.S Thesis, Utah State University, 49 pages P Budy McHugh, P 2002 A model-based approach to assessing the potential response of chinook salmon to habitat improvements MS Thesis Utah State University T C Edwards None this year D PAPERS AND POSTERS PRESENTED (FY 2002 ONLY) Invited Bissonette, J A Invited paper 2002 Wildlife Populations: Effects of the roaded landscape Presented at the Transportation Research Board, 14 January 2002, Washington, D C Bissonette, J A 2002 Wagon trains and fur trappers: early conservation in the United States Invited seminar given to the faculty of the Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan Fachgebiet fuer Wildbiologie und Wildtiermanagement at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Freising Germany, 28 June 2002 Bissonette, J A 2002 Land fragmentation: mismatched philosophical and analytical approaches in ecology Invited Seminar presented at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 19 September 2002 Bissonette, J A 2002 Early antecedents of conservation in the United States Invited Seminar presented to undergraduate honors class at the University of Vermont, 23 September, 2002 Bissonette, J A 2002 Patterned landscapes and complicated population: curbing excessive generality Invited Seminars presented at the University of Massachusetts (11/4) and at Harvard University (11/6) Budy, P 2002 Overview of current research in trout and salmon population dynamics and conservation Invited Seminar USFWS Research Seminar Series, Columbia River Fisheries Program Office, Portland, OR Edwards, T C., Jr., G G Moisen, T S Frescino, and R J Schultz Linking FIA products and wildlife habitat modelling Invited paper, Joint Meeting of the 4th Annual Forest Inventory and Analysis Symposium and The Southern Mensurationists, New Orleans, Louisiana, 11/20/02 Edwards, T C., Jr., R Toth, and R J Lilieholm Alternative Futures for Uath's Wasatch Front: the conservation of open space Invited paper, International Conference on Landscape Planning: Landscape Planning in the Era of Globalization, Portoroz, Slovenia, 11/8/02 Edwards, T C., Jr The analysis of rare ecological events: lichens and the interface between science and policy in the area of the Pacific Northwest Forest Plan Invited paper, Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nevada, 9/5/02 Edwards, T C., Jr Species distribution modelling: lessons learned, opportunities unveiled Invited paper, Twelfth Annual National Gap Analysis Meeting, USFWS NCTC, Shepardstown, West Virginia, 8/1/02 Edwards, T C., Jr., G G Moisen, T S Frescino, and J J Lawler Modelling multiple ecological scales: linking landscape theory to wildlife habitat conservation Invited paper, Center for Environmental Science, Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland, Frostburg, Maryland, 4/11/02 Edwards, T C., Jr., G G Moisen, T S Frescino, and J J Lawler Modelling multiple ecological scales: linking landscape theory to wildlife habitat conservation Invited paper, USDA FS Forest Inventory and Analysis Program Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, 3/12/02 Lilieholm, R J., T C Edwards, Jr., R Toth Alternative future growth scenarios for the California Mojave Desert: assessing the impacts of growth on biodiversity Invited paper, International Conference on Landscape Planning: Landscape Planning in the Era of Globalization, Portoroz, Slovenia, 11/8/02 McHugh, P Budy, P 2002 Habitat assessment for spring/summer chinook salmon, parts I and II Invited Seminar USFWS Research Seminar Series, Columbia River Fisheries Program Office, Portland, OR Contributed Johnson, J., B Andres, and J A Bissonette 2002 The importance of managing breeding bird communities of major mainland rivers in Southeast Alaska Partners in Flight, Western Working Group, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory October 2002 Bjurlin, C D., and J A Bissonette 2002 Desert tortoise nest site selection and embryogenisis in a changing environment Wildlife Society Annual Western Section Meeting ,Visalia, CA 7-9 March 2002 de la Hoz, E.A., and P Budy 2002 Distribution of Myxobolus cerebralis in the Logan River, Utah: effects on salmonid populations Bonneville Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Pocatello, Idaho de la Hoz, E.A., and P Budy 2002 Distribution of Myxobolus cerebralis in the Logan River, UT: effects on salmonid populations American Fisheries Society, Baltimore, Maryland de la Hoz, E.A., and P Budy 2002 Assessing the effects of disease and other environmental factors on the dynamics, abundance, and distribution of endemic trout populations in the Logan River, Utah Society for Conservation Biology Canterbury, UK de la Hoz, E A., and P Budy 2002 Distribution of Myxobolus cerebralis in the Logan River, UT: effects on salmonid populations Poster 8th Annual Whirling Disease Symposium Denver, Colorado McHugh, P., P Budy, and H A Schaller 2002 An assessment of Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon spawning habitat suitability using logistic regression techniques Bonneville Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Pocatello, Idaho McHugh, P., and P Budy A model-based assessment of the potential response of selected Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon populations to habitat improvements North American Benthological Society, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Haddix, T., P Budy, and G P Thiede 2002 Factors affecting rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) growth and survival in Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Utah-Wyoming Bonneville Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Pocatello, Idaho Haddix, T., P Budy, and G P Thiede 2002 Factors affecting rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) growth and survival in Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Utah-Wyoming American Fisheries Society, Baltimore, Maryland Schultz, R J., and T C Edwards, Jr Development and validation of predictive models of cavity nesting bird habitat in the Fishlake National Forest Paper presented at the Joint Meeting of the 4th Annual Forest Inventory and Analysis Symposium and The Southern Mensurationists, New Orleans, Louisiana, 11/19/02 Schultz, R J., Jr., T C Edwards, Jr., G G Moisen, and T S Frescino Scale dependency in habitat selection by cavity nesting birds in Fishlake National Forest, Utah Poster presented at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Tucson, Arizona, 8/5/02 E CLASSES AND SHORT COURSES J A Bissonette FW6700/7700, Landscape Ecology: credit hours, graduate class, Winter Semester, 14 students Protected Areas Workshop conducted at the Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany, 25 May, 2002 P Budy Large River Management (WS 6330), units, spring semester, co-taught with J Schmidt Fish Ecology (FW 6230/7230), units, spring semester T C Edwards FRWS 6500 Design and Analysis of Ecological Research, Fall 02, credits, graduate, 35 students FWS 6510 Topics in Spatial Ecology, Spring 02, credit, graduate, students F RECOGNITION & AWARDS J A Bissonette Senior Fulbright Scholar, Technische Universität München, January - June 2002 Visiting Professor, Aiken School of Natural Resources and Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, September – November 2002 P Budy Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Utah State University, Faculty Advisor of the Year, 2002 G SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS J A Bissonette 2003 International Wildlife Management Congress, Christchurch, New Zealand Chairman, Publications Committee Member, Program Committee Member, Support of Symposia and Conferences Committee Member, Site-Selection Committee P Budy USFWS June Sucker Recovery Team USU Department of Aquatic Watershed and Earth Resources, Graduate Academic Review Committee USU College of Natural Resources, Educational Policy Committee USU, College of Natural Resources, Graduate Fellowship Advisory Committee T C Edwards Statistical Advisory Group, USDA Forest Service Survey and Management Program, Pacific Northwest Forest Management Plan ... Departure 2002 ANNUAL REPORT USGS Biological Resources Division Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit College of Natural Resources Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-5290 2002 Research. ..2003 Annual Coordinating Committee Meeting Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit College of Natural Resources Dean’s Conference Room, NR 108 Utah State University, Logan, UT Rotating... June 2002 Visiting Professor, Aiken School of Natural Resources and Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, September – November 2002 P Budy Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Utah