Long-term project to study elk use and forage quality post-fire

SEELEY LAKE – Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks deployed 19 GPS collars on adult female elk on the Blackfoot Clearwater Wildlife Management Area, also known as the Game Range, Dec. 6. This is part of a new long-term elk research project that hopes to help land managers understand elk distribution and use following wildfire.

Researchers Mark Hurley and Ross Baty studied elk distribution on the Game Range in the late 1980s and early 1990s using VHF radio collars. Their work identified migration routes, summer ranges and winter use. This was the most current data for land managers and biologists.

FWP Wildlife Biologist Scott Eggeman proposed the elk project around three years ago. The original focus on the project was to study how the vegetation treatments on the Seeley Lake Ranger District's Center Horse Project affected elk distribution, elk use, forage and nutritional condition.

"The Rice Ridge fire changed that," said Eggeman. "Now we have an even better opportunity because instead of a 10,000 acre treatment we have a 160,000 acre treatment."

The objectives are still similar assessing the effects of the Rice Ridge fire in elk distribution and use of the burn area. Eggeman said without current pre-fire data, they will use information from Hurley and Baty's study for pre-treatment vegetation condition.

FWP approved the project in August.

"When we got approval, we didn't have any money," said Eggeman. "I called Jack [Rich]."

When Eggeman first proposed the project he discussed it with Rich, outfitter and owner of the Rich's Montana Guest Ranch. Rich had contacts that he had guided on hunting and summer trips that helped fund Hurley's project and he told Eggeman they may be interested in the project.

Through Rich's connection, Eggeman submitted a proposal to the Campfire Conservation Fund, Inc. of Chappaqua, N.Y.

"They are the reason this project is happening. They provided the seed money to do this," said Eggeman who added they provided enough money to purchase the initial 19 GPS collars.

FWP contracted with Quicksilver Air, Inc. to capture the 19 elk using a net-gun. Net-gunning is a technique where a net is shot from a helicopter. The net spreads out of the targeted animal and tangles it in the net. The capture crew then lands and using body weight and hobbling methods to immobilize the animal momentarily while tests are done and the collar is placed. Then the animal is released.

Region 3 Wildlife Research Biologist Kelly Proffitt said net-gunning is preferred in gentle terrain and for antler-less animals.

"Net-gunning means we can avoid drugging animals and avoids the physiological stresses of chemical immobilization (i.e. darting), and also minimizes risk of accidental human exposures," wrote Proffitt. "It also prevents partially immobilized animals from crossing property boundaries if we are working in areas of mixed public and private lands."

The crew started at 9 a.m. Dec. 6. Using an FWP spotter plane, Quicksilver helicopter and ground crew, they targeted a large group of more than 300 elk in the Elk Basin on the Game Range and a smaller group of less than 50 in the same area.

Once an elk was netted, several tests were done.

First blood samples were taken and tooth removed for aging. The blood was sent to a laboratory to screen for exposure to diseases and to assess if the elk was pregnant or not.

Second, fecal samples were collected. Based on plant fragments in the fecal pellets, FWP will evaluate the important forage plants comprising winter diet.

Finally, a portable ultrasound was used to measure rump fat thickness and estimate the percent ingesta-free body fat.

"The amount of body fat at this time of year will reflect the nutritional resources the elk acquired on their summer ranges," wrote Proffitt. "We plan to track changes in body fat over time that may indicate how nutritional resource change post-wildfire."

Prior to release, the elk was fitted with its GPS collar.

FWP completed the operation by 3 p.m.

"We had great capture conditions short of not having snow [to provide a little padding for the elk because they get wrapped up in the net and trip and stumble] because it was cold. It doesn't overheat the animals when you have days like that," said Eggeman. "We didn't have any issues. We were all happily surprised."

The GPS collars record locations hourly from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. allowing biologists to see the areas elk use throughout the year. Eggeman said they hope to use the 19 collared animals to give them a better idea of where to sample so they can target those areas. FWP will try to deploy another 30 collars next winter.

In addition to the distribution information provided by the collars, University of Montana Professor Joshua Millspaugh and a graduate student will add remote cameras in the spring to model elk use across the landscape. The cameras are distributed across the landscape giving a probability of detecting the elk.

"If the probability increases in certain areas, then they are being used at a higher level. The radio collar will give us some of that information but the camera work will strengthen that information," said Eggeman.

Another component of the project is vegetation sampling across the area. Researchers will look at how the vegetation is distributed across the landscape and assign energy content for the various forage species, based on other research. Finally FWP will create a map of the landscape that shows a gradient from low to high forage quality.

Eggeman said forage quality is linked to nutritional condition, productivity, pregnancy rates, calf weight and in some ways calf survival. They have seen an increase in use of agricultural land because, the assumption is, the forage quality is better. Eggeman said they also assume the forage quality will decline as fire ages.

"We will compare those for distribution," said Eggeman. "We will be able to get an idea of how this affects elk productivity from the bottom up."

Proffitt led a six-year project on the Bitterroot National Forest were she created a landscape forage map modeling digestible energy across the landscape. The project helped biologists learn about the effects of wildfire on vegetation and elk forage and developed methodology to sample vegetation.

Proffitt looks forward to building on that methodology and vegetation sampling while answering slightly different questions.

"In the Blackfoot project we will investigate vegetation response to low and high severity wildfire and then track vegetation and elk responses over time post-fire," wrote Proffitt in an email. "We expect the project to evaluate changes in vegetation and elk responses periodically for the first 15 years post-fire."

Proffitt and Eggeman hope the results of the study will help land managers across the northern Rocky Mountains make decisions to enhance elk habitat and help wildlife managers make decisions to benefit elk population management.

The 15-year project is not fully funded. In addition to the seed money and money from FWP, Eggeman applied for grants through the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and FWP. They will continue to seek additional funding.