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Caribou Use of the Valleau Creek Watershed, 1997-2001
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1.Caribou were radio-tracked for five years in the Valleau Creek drainage basin, an unlogged and unroaded watershed in the Fort St. James Forest District of central interior BC. The aim was to find how caribou used the area and its habitats, as a benchmark for monitoring changes (if any) when commercial logging occurred. Topics described are: caribou numbers at the Valleau, caribou movements and range size, habitat types, survival rates and calving success, seasonal differences, and implications for forest management.
2. Caribou at Valleau Creek are members of the Wolverine caribou herd which numbers some 500 animals in the Omineca river system and the Wolverine mountain range near Williston Lake. The Valleau individuals are the most southwesterly members of that herd. Caribou numbers currently at the Valleau are estimated to be about 25-30 animals a year or more in age.
3. During 1997-2001, caribou used the Valleau basin only from spring to fall, migrating into the area in late April - early May and departing from it during October - November each year. They wintered with other members of the parent Wolverine herd at lower elevations to the north and east of the Valleau.
4. The survival rate of the radio-collared animals was high, averaging about 90 percent per year during the five years. Their annual calving rate (number of cow caribou giving birth) was also high, averaging at least 80% per year.
5. Migration to and from the Valleau took place quickly each year, occurring within a week to ten days. The average date of arrival in spring was 6th May (earliest 7th April). The average date of departure was 6th November (latest 16th November). Migration into the area coincided with rapid snowmelt, but departures in autumn were unrelated to snow cover or snow depth.
6. Each individual caribou was highly faithful to a particular part of the Valleau, returning to the same locality year by year and remaining at it throughout the summer. The souther ...
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wsi_784_rpt2.zip
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