Please note: the Box Elder Adaptive Resource Management (BARM) group is now part of the West Box Elder Coordinated Resource Management (WBECRM) group.
Conservation Plan Reports/Minutes Projects
- Next Meeting: Field Tour May 18, 2012, beginning at 10 AM at the Park Valley LDS Church. Space is limited to please RSVP to Todd Black at 435-770-9302.
- Webcast locations available in Brigham City, Rich County and Salt Lake City. Contact Todd Black at 770-9302 or todd.black@usu.edu if you have any questions.
The Box Elder CRM group will meet on the third Tuesday of each month (excluding December). Meetings will begin at 6 PM at the Park Valley School.
To be placed on mailing list and or for specific meeting location and times please contact: Todd A. Black
Conservation Plan
BARM SAGR Conservation Plan
- West Box Elder Adaptive Resource Management Plan Update, Nov. 2008
Reports
- Plan Inventory Analysis Update given April 17, 2012.
- Noxious Weed Plan, February 2012 by Box Elder County Weed Department.
- Key Principles of Grazing Management, February 2012 by UGIP Technical Committee.
- 2011 Accomplishment Report, BARM section
- Stephanie Graham. 2011. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat selection and use patterns in response to vegetation management practices in Western Box Elder County, Utah. Annual report of research.
- 2011 Presentation to County Commission
- Stephanie Graham. 2011. Mitigating threats to Greater sage-grouse through shrub-steppe habitat manipulations. Presentation given at the USU Wildland Resources Graduate Student Symposium.
- 2010 Accomplishment Report; BARM section
- Thesis by Ron Greer (2010) Ecology and Seasonal Habitat Use Patterns of Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse in Northern Utah. Utah State University.
- Dissertation by Eric T. Thacker (2010) Greater Sage-grouse Seasonal Ecology and Responses to Habitat Manipulations in Northern Utah. Utah State University.
- 2008 BARM Annual Report of USU Research Studies
- 2008 BARM Accomplishment Report; BARM section
- 2006-7 Accomplishment Report; BARM section
- 2007 BARM Annual Report of USU Research Studies
- Thesis by Jan S. Knerr (2007) Greater Sage-Grouse Ecology in Western Box Elder County, Utah. Utah State University.
Minutes:
- April 17, 2012
- February 21, 2012
- January 17, 2012
- October 18, 2011
- September 13, 2011
- August 18, 2011
- July 12, 2011 CRMP meeting
- December 9, 2008
- Archived Minutes
Demography, Vital Rates, Habitat-use and Seasonal Movements of Greater Sage-Grouse in NW Utah
This project seeks to answer questions on the demography, vital rates, habitat-use, and seasonal movements of sage-grouse in the Raft River subunit of the Box Elder Local Working Group area. The Raft River subunit roughly encompasses the area from Park Valley North to the Idaho border. The focus is on sage-grouse relationships to vegetation treatments (chemical, mechanical or fire-altered habitat), and investigation of diet components. Specifically, we will be determining forbs species that are important to pre-laying hens and hatched broods, and determining if those forbs are more prevalent in areas where sagebrush has been thinned. The ecological knowledge gained, especially knowledge specific to the population in question, will allow management actions to be applied effectively and efficiently to benefit both sage-grouse and forage quality and quantity.
To answer questions about the ecology of sage-grouse in the Park Valley area, we will be trapping and installing radio collars on 60 sage-grouse during the fall, winter and spring of 2011-2012. We will follow these radio tagged birds over the following two summers and intervening winter to record year to year survival, breeding success, habitat use and seasonal movements. We will also be counting grouse pellets to compare areas that have undergone vegetation treatments in the past to areas that have unaltered sagebrush habitat to determine the effects on sage-grouse habitat use.
This project will fill knowledge gaps outlined in the Box Elder Greater Sage-grouse Local Conservation Plan that have been identified as critical for implementing effective management strategies to increase populations of Sage-grouse in the management area and avoid ESA listing. This study will also provide critical information on the effects of past habitat treatments on Sage-grouse to inform future planning decisions on the best practices for habitat improvement.
Biography
Avery Cook is a graduate student in the Wildland Resources Department at Utah State University working towards his Masters in Wildlife Biology. He graduated from the University of California at Davis with a Bachelors of Science in Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology in 2006. He has spent his time since graduation working as a wildlife technician for the Museum of Wildlife Biology at UC Davis, the US Forest Service, Oregon State University, and as a Fisheries Observer in the Bering Sea. During his time as a technician he has researched a variety of animals including fish, small mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Avery is interested in ecosystem level processes, population ecology and investigating real world solutions to conservation challenges. Avery can be reached at aacook@aggiemail.usu.edu.
Brian Wing is a graduate student working toward a Master of Science in wildlife biology in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University. He graduated from Southern Utah University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Zoology. While attending SUU, he worked as a technician for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in habitat construction and maintenance. After graduation, he worked as a service technician for a private company specializing in nuisance wildlife removal. He is interested in ecosystem interactions, habitat restoration and management, and solving wildlife-related issues. He is currently researching the role of vegetation characteristics on Greater Sage-Grouse vital rates and habitat-use. Brian can be contacted at wingman84@gmail.com.
Effect of Chain Harrow, Mastication of Trees, Plateau, and Forage Kochia on Greater sage-grouse habitat in West Box Elder County
Greater sage-grouse populations have been declining in recent decades for a variety of reasons, including a reduction of habitat. Fire and the subsequent spread of invasive vegetation species as well as increased development has reduced sage-grouse brood rearing, wintering, and nesting habitat. Several strategies have been identified as potential methods for increasing sage grouse habitat including chain harrowing, seeding forage kochia, spraying Plateau, and mastication of junipers. The purpose of this particular study is to document response of sage-grouse use to these land manipulation treatments.
The study site is in West Box Elder County near Grouse Creek, UT. Land in this area is owned by both public and private entities. The study area is on Badger Flat, just south of the town of Grouse Creek, UT. Pretreatment studies were conducted late winter 2009 until the summer of 2010.
Post treatment studies have been conducted beginning in winter of 2010 and continuing until summer of 2012.
ATS collars will be placed on sage-grouse allowing researchers to locate the birds during various times of the year to determine use or avoidance of treatment areas. Line and point intercept transects will be conducted on treatment and control plots. As well, once a year, distance sampling of pellet surveys will also be performed to determine use of treatment and control plots. Pellets will be analyzed in the two latter years of the study to establish use/non-use of forage kochia. Line intercept of nest sites and brood sites will be completed and added to the database for further analysis.
Analysis of this data will provide information about impacts of the four different management strategies on the Greater sage-grouse population in West Box Elder County.
Biography
Stephanie Graham is a M.S. student in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University. She received her B.S. degree in Biology: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from The University of Texas in 2006. After graduating, she worked at Rocky Mountain National Park as a wildlife research technician on several wildlife projects including a black bear ecological study and a carnivore complex research project. Her interests include rangeland management, population ecology, and human wildlife conflicts. Stephanie is currently studying effects of land manipulation techniques on Greater sage-grouse. Stephanie can be contacted at stephg0809@gmail.com.