MANAGEMENT and CONSERVATION QUESTIONS - Northern Rockies Lynx, Wolverine, Fisher
Management Question: Asks how management actions or naturally occurring events are influencing resource
conditions, or outcomes predicted or desired. (programmatic questions). Basically what questions
(uncertainties/assumptions) do you have about management (actions taken – by anyone) and their relationship to
lynx, wolverine, and fisher?
Conservation Questions: Ask about overall condition, status, trend, needs, habitat use, connectivity, genetics, etc.
of the resource at relevant scale.
Examples
Management questions examples
from the Dec workshop breakout group
How is forest management affecting these species and
their habitats?
How do we manage forest activities in these species’
habitats?
Conservation questions examples
from the Dec workshop breakout group
Where should the species be?
Where should we care about the species and where not
to care about these species?
Where are important places for these species in the
future
Where are they and how are they using their
surroundings?
Are habitat assumptions valid?
What is needed for landscape connectivity and where?
What is needed for genetic diversity?
Where are source populations?
From R1 BSMS* brainstorm with few Bios
Are we providing key ecological conditions to support
recovery of Canada lynx?
Are we providing key ecological conditions and
processes to support maintaining persistent
populations of Fisher?
From R1 BSMS* brainstorm with few Bios
For fisher
What is the amount of mature forest that provide the
attributes of fisher habitat?
Does the distribution of mature forest comprise >50%
of landscape, and open areas less than 5%? (at the
scale of 50 – 100 km2)?
What is the amount of large snags and large down
wood?
Are areas of fisher habitat connected at the landscape
scale sufficient to allow for dispersal?
For Lynx
What is the quantity, distribution and trend of
multistoried hare habitat in lynx in winter? PCE1 - how
much do we need of this?
What is the trend in the amount of multistoried hare
habitat? If down, why
What is the trend in the amount of stand initiation hare
habitat? If up or down, why?
What is the quantity (and rate?) of initiation habitat
that will develop into multistoried habitat and at what
age? (Research question: - monitor hare pellet
counts??)
What is the change in winter snow conditions in
mapped lynx habitat deep and fluffy for extended
periods of time? PCE1b
Are sites available for denning that have abundant
coarse woody debris, such as downed trees? PCE1c
What is the change in connectivity among the patches
within critical and among patches outside of critical
habitat? NRLMD standard ALLS1
What is recovery target – do we need numbers?
Abundance, genetic relatedness??
*2012 Planning Rule Broader Scale Monitoring Strategy