The size of elk herds in Eastern Oregon has become a controversial
issue. Trade-offs exist between the numbers of elk and domestic
livestock on a given area of land, and also between elk and commercial
timber harvesting policies. Disputes arise from differing views as
to proper use of the natural...
Sustainable elk (Cervus canadensis) habitat management on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands involves a complex relationship between management practices and ecological processes. A relatively novel Rocky Mountain elk population (Cervus canadensis nelsoni) on the Plumas National Forest (PNF) in northeastern California became established in the early 2000s, but there is...
This research was conducted on three study areas on elk winter
ranges in Northeast Oregon. One was on the Starkey Experimental
Forest and Range and the others were in the same vicinity. Plant
appendages, spring and fall defoliation and fall growth of bluebunch
wheatgrass were evaluated in terms of quality...
Two small herds of Rocky Mountain (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) cow elk were, collared, observed, and spatially mapped for 10 continuous six day trials, conducted during 2008-2009. Five trials occurred during full moon periods and five trials during new moon periods. The elk were collared with 1 second interval GPS loggers...
With declining populations and low calf recruitment in northeastern Oregon, much interest has been generated to study the survival rates and causes of mortality of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni). I investigated the causes of elk calf mortality and the effects of predation risk on birth-site selection by cow...
Ungulate behavior has been studied extensively but direct observation of free-ranging animals over long periods of time and large geographic areas is often prohibitively difficult. Improved technology, such as GPS collars fitted with motion-sensitive activity monitors, provides researchers with a potential tool to remotely collect fine scale activity and location...