IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Carroll, C.; Noss, R.F.; Paquet, P.C. | |
| Carnivores as focal species for conservation planning in the Rocky Mountain region | |
| Full Book | |
Following World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) 1995 report _Large Carnivore Conservation in the populations of carnivores_, World Wildlife Fund Canada and The Nature Conservancy initiated a project to gather and map available information on the quality of carnivore habitat in the Rocky Mountains. The overall goal of the project is to help provide information necessary to develop a comprehensive carnivore conservation strategy for the region extending from the Banff-Yoho-Jasper-Kootenay complex of national parks in Alberta and British Columbia, to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. The project comprises two phases. This report documents the results of the first phase, which answers this primary question: What is the relative suitability of the landscapes in the Rocky Mountains for supporting large and medium-sized carnivores (grizzly bear, black bear, gray wolf, coyote, cougar, lynx, bobcat, wolverine, fisher, and American marten)? We developed empirical habitat models for fisher, lynx, and wolverine based on a geographically-extensive data set of trapping and sighting records. Predictor variables derived directly from satellite imagery were significantly correlated with carnivore distribution and allowed us to predict distribution in areas for which detailed vegetation data are lacking. Predicted habitat values for lynx and wolverine are significantly correlated with trapping data from an area outside the extent of the original data set. We predicted grizzly bear, cougar, and gray wolf habitat by adapting previously-published habitat models. Conceptual models for black bear, bobcat, coyote, and marten were developed from a review of published information on specieshabitat associations. Our results suggest that when designing a comprehensive conservation strategy for carnivores in the region, the needs of several species rather than a single presumed umbrella species must be considered. |
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