Treesearch

A renewed interest in pinyon-juniper woodlands has accelerated debate regarding management of this unique ecosystem. Should these woodlands be managed only to provide livestock forage through overstory removal-popular programs in the 1950s and 1960s-or should they be managed for production of multiple resource products and amenities? Pinyon-juniper woodlands have varying capabilities of producing fuelwood, wildlife habitat, forage for livestock, watershed protection, and other products such as pinyon nuts (Figure 1). In addition to these more traditional resources, we must now consider...

This paper is intended to broaden awareness and help develop consensus among USDA Forest Service scientists and resource managers about the role and significance of disturbance in ecosystem dynamics and, hence, resource management. To have an effective ecosystem management policy, resource managers and the public must understand the nature of ecological resiliency and stability and the role of natural disturbance on sustainability. Disturbances are common and important in virtually all ecosystems.

This guide provides technical descriptions of 23 lntermountain rushes (Juncus spp.), including the common and several less abundant species. Line drawings and color or black and white photos illustrate diagnostic characteristics of each species. An illustrated morphology and a glossary acquaint the layperson with terminology used to classify rushes. The guide is intended as a tool to aid in classification; it is not inclusive.

The fundamental difference between the map presented here and other regional ecosystem classifications is that this map's ecological units are based on climatic processes rather than vegetation communities (map appears at the end of this appendix). Macroclimatic processes are the physical and thermodynamic interaction between climatic controls, or the relatively permanent atmospheric and geographical factors that govern the general nature of specific climates (Marsh 1988). This approach to regional ecological classification has proven useful to resource managers and interest groups in...

This cooperative effort by USDA Forest Service Research and the National Forest System assesses the state of knowledge related to the conservation status of four forest carnivores in the western United States: American marten, fisher, lynx, and wolverine. The conservation assessment reviews the biology and ecology of these species. It also discusses management considerations stemming from what is known and identifies information needed. Overall, we found huge knowledge gaps that make it difficult to evaluate the species' conservation status. In the western United States, the forest...

The information presented in this appendix was compiled from responses to two separate forest carnivore questionnaires distributed to Forest Service Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10 in early 1993. Each region designated a primary contact to serve on the Habitat Conservation Assessment Management Team. It was the duty of each representative to provide and verify accuracy of data. Regional Management Team contacts queried National Forest wildlife biologists, state agency biologists, and various affiliated researchers to provide the data for the western Regions that are summarized in the...

We compared use of seven habitat types to availability of those types within the home ranges of eight radio-tagged Mexican Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis lucida). When all habitat types were considered simultaneously, habitat use differed from habitat availability for each owl. Patterns of habitat use varied among individuals and with respect to activity. Owls generally foraged more than or as frequently as expected in virgin mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests, and less than expected in managed forests. Owls roosted primarily in virgin mixed-conifer forests. We...

The fisher (Martes pennanti) is a medium-size mammalian carnivore and the largest member of the genus Martes (Anderson 1970) of the family Mustelidae in the order Carnivora. The genus Martes includes five or six other extant species. The fisher has the general body build of a stocky weasel and is long, thin, and set low to the ground. A fisher's head is triangular with a pronounced muzzle, its ears are large but rounded, and its eyes face largely forward (Douglas and Strickland 1987). Adult male fishers generally weigh between 3.5 and 5.5 kg and are between 90 and 120 cm long. Adult female...

The American marten (Martes americana), also called the marten or American sable, is a carnivorous mammal about the size of a small house cat. Its total length is between 500 and 680 mm and it weighs 500-1400 g as an adult, depending on sex and geography (Buskirk and McDonald 1989; Strickland et al. 1982). The male is 20-40% larger than, but otherwise similar in appearance to, the female. Both sexes are furred with glossy hair of medium length, are tan to chocolate in color, and have an irregular neck or throat patch ranging from pale cream to bright amber. Its face is pointed and foxlike...

The reviews presented in previous chapters reveal substantial gaps in our knowledge about marten, fisher, lynx, and wolverine. These gaps severely constrain our ability to design reliable conservation strategies. This problem will be explored in depth in Chapter 7. In this chapter, our objective is to discuss management considerations resulting from what we currently know (and don't know) about these four forest carnivores.