I estimated various demographic parameters of the coyote population in Curlew Valley, northern Utah and southern Idaho, during the period August 1972 through September 1974. Fi eld work provided estimates of relative and absolute coyote densities and established causes of coyote mortality. Laboratory analyses of 866 coyote carcasses supplied information on sex and age ratios , ovulation frequencies , pregnancy rates, and litter sizes. Annual ovulation frequencies and pregnancy rates for the entire population varied from 70 to 92 percent and 57 to 88 percent respectively. Age- specific ovulation frequencies varied from 63 to 91 percent, respectively, for pups and adults. Similarly, age-specific pregnancy rates varied from 53 to 100 percent for pups and adults respectively . Mean age-specific litter sizes were 6. 0 , 5 . 9 , 6. 5 , and 6. 2 for pups, Yearlings, adults, and all ages combined, Reproductive rates appeared to be inversely related to coyote densities; hence, density-dependent processes operated in this population. The sex ratio of denned pups (May ) did not differ significantly from an expected 50:50 sex ratio. The pup sex ratio in the winter carcass collections differed significantly from 50:50 where as that of yearlings and adults did not. The percentage of pups varied from 42 to 56 percent in the winter carcass collections. Ages of coyotes were determined by counting cementwn annuli in longitudinal canine and lower first premolar sections . In addition to the conventional method of assigning ages , I developed a second method based on cementum thickness ratios . This method was necessary since my collections were obtain ed during the period of annulus formation. Hence it is possible to observe coyotes of the same age that display different numbers of annuli. Both the relative- and absolute-density data revealed substantial short - term variation in coyote densities. Post-whelping, May coyote jensities may have varied from l , 5 to 0. 2 coyotes per square 2 mile (0. 6 to 0, 08 coyotes per km ). The mortality of coyotes 5 months old and older was almost entirely man-induced. Annual fa ll- to - fall population mortality varied from -12 to 82 percent. Similarly , estimated birth - to-fall pup mortality rates ranged from 41 to 72 percent, with the major losses probably occurring between birth and May. Coyotes a reprobably most susceptible to natural mortality during their first few month s of life .

This study examines rock art sites containing scratched petroglyphs in the Bennett Hills, Idaho. Despite their research potential, scratched petroglyphs have received little attention in rock art research or literature. This study contributes valuable data to scratched rock art research and the corpus of rock art research in general. Two samples of ten scratched petroglyph sites were examined and recorded for a total of twenty petroglyph sites. Using formal and contextual research methods, multiple attributes of scratched petroglyphs are identified and analyzed. The formal qualities of scratched petroglyphs are examined to define the extent and to characterize the motif assemblage. Formal qualities were also studied to test hypotheses concerning the relationship between scratched and pecked petroglyph styles and associations between scratched petroglyphs and other archaeological phenomena. The contexts of scratched petroglyphs are studied on site and landscape scales to identify correlations with other archaeological phenomena and environments. The formal analyses revealed that there are more scratched petroglyphs in the Bennett Hills than records and literature currently indicate. Few site records document the presence of scratched petroglyphs, although as a result of this analysis it appears to be ubiquitous in the Bennett Hills. It is possible that scratched petroglyphs are under recorded in other locales as well, and that further investigations may identify a greater frequency of scratched petroglyphs throughout the Great Basin. Proper identification of scratched petroglyphs may alter how these properties are evaluated and in turn how they are managed. The Bennett Hills encompass a limited and unique assemblage of scratched petroglyph motifs that are dissimilar to petroglyphs manufactured using other techniques. This is significant in that it helps support the idea that scratched petroglyphs are distinct. Rather than just an alternative method to pecking, scratched petroglyphs serve a unique function that is different from and independent of pecked petroglyphs. Contextual analyses indicated that scratched petroglyphs are located in patterned and significant associations with artifacts, features, environments, and landscapes. The contextual analysis suggested that scratched rock art was produced in a public context in close proximity to subsistence related activities, perhaps in association with resource gathering events. There are various hypotheses that deal with the interaction between scratched and pecked petroglyph styles. Scratched petroglyphs occur both independent of and in association with other pecked petroglyph styles, although scratched petroglyphs do not commonly occur with any one pecked motif. When scratched and pecked petroglyph styles overlap scratched petroglyphs are always later than and superimposed over earlier pecked petroglyphs. Data was collected to test three hypotheses concerning the intention of association between scratched and pecked petroglyphs. It does not appear that scratched petroglyphs serve to obliterate earlier pecked petroglyphs or function as a sketch that would be pecked later. There is evidence that some scratched petroglyphs enhance earlier pecked petroglyphs however, this hypothesis cannot sufficiently describe the range of patterns and associations found in the Bennett Hills scratched petroglyph assemblage. Hypotheses suggesting associations between scratched rock art and other archaeological phenomena were also examined. The association between scratched petroglyphs and scratched stones is deserving of further research. It may also be too soon to dismiss the association between scratched petroglyphs and quartz. The examination of scratched petroglyphs in the Bennett Hills provides a unique insight into the minds of the makers of these petroglyphs, contributing valuable data our knowledge of the prehistoric peoples of the Bennett Hills and surrounding areas.

The mid-Cretaceous Wayan Formation of Idaho consists of floodplain-deposited siltstones and mudstones, with subordinate fluvial sandstones and conglomerates. Deposition occurred in a tectonic foredeep at the toe of the Sevier thrust complex. Measurement of two incomplete and one complete section indicates a thickness of roughly 1,344 meters in the study area. No laterally extensive marker beds are present but the lower Wayan contains distinct chert pebble conglomerates, and the middle Wayan may contain a higher relative abundance of fluvial sandstone. Known fossil localities are limited to the lower and middle portions of the formation. The Wayan Formation, as currently defined, has a flora consisting of the ferns Gleichenia and Anemia, conifers, and angiosperms. This flora compares best with the Cenomanian aged Dakota Sandstone flora of Westwater, Utah. The vertebrate fauna is overwhelmingly dominated by the small burrowing ornithopod Oryctodromeus with other vertebrates being rare, consisting of a small dromaeosaurid theropod, iguanodontid grade ornithopods, and a large crocodilian similar to Deinosuchus. The fauna is most similar to the Cenomanian Blackleaf Formation of Montana. Prior to this report, only fragmentary dinosaurian remains had been reported from Idaho. The recovery of 10+ individuals of Oryctodromeus, some reasonably complete and partially articulated, provide significant insights into this genus, including an elongate femoral head projecting at roughly 40° from the femoral shaft, elongate cervical and dorsal centra, and abundant ossified tendons in the dorsal and caudal columns. Taphonomic evidence supports previous suggestions of adult/juvenile social groups and burrowing behavior in this taxon. New detrital zircon U-Pb dates and palynological analyses support a latest Albian to Cenomanian age for the Wayan Formation, but provide little additional age resolution. The tightest age resolution is provided by faunal correlation using Oryctodromeus, a taxon previously known only from the Cenomanian-age Blackleaf Formation of southwestern Montana. Similar tectonic settings, ages, lithologies, and the presence of Oryctodromeus in both faunas suggest synonymy of the Wayan and Blackleaf Formation, with the Wayan having precedence.

Preston, Idaho, a small agricultural community in northern Cache Valley, in early times was a hunting ground for Indians who camped nearby. The first white men to visit the area were trappers, immigrants and explorers. Mormon settlers had pushed to its borders by 1860.Unlike most communities of Cache Valley, the greater Preston area, known then as Worm Creek, was settled by individual enterprise. In 1868 Dennis W. Winn became the first settler in that part of Worm Creek known as the "Flat" or "Sandridge" which later became Preston. Other settlers located along Worm Creek to the east.The Utah Northern Railroad reached Franklin in 1874, hoping to complete a line to Montana. Over 14 miles of bed were graded which passed through Worm Creek and thus provided employment and promoted interest in the area.

The National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) is located along the western edge of the upper Snake River Plain in southeastern Idaho. The area covered in this study comprises 894 square miles of rolling to broken land. The plain is broken by three large buttes, all volcanic in nature. The Snake River Plain was formed by the interbedding of volcanic rocks, lake, and alluvial deposits. The alluvial deposits are Quaternary in age as are the basalt flows, and the three buttes are middle Teritary. The vegetation is semi-desert and belongs to the northern desert shrub biome. Annual precipitation at the station is between 7 and 8 inches and the mean annual temperature is 42 degrees F. In this study an attempt was made to collect representatives of all taxa of vascular ·plants on the NRTS. All pertinent specimens in the herbaria of Idaho State College, Utah State University, and the NRTS were examined. From these data keys, descriptions, distributions, and phenology are provided for all taxa. A summary of the families, genera, and species reconized in this study are as follows: (1) 158 families, (2) 162 genera, and (3) 349 species.

Astragalus oniciformis Barneby is a xerophyte of the sagebrush deserts of central Idaho. It is a narrow endemic of the upper Snake River Plains where it inhabits stabilized, aeolian sand deposits over Quaternary basalt flows. The objective of this study was to determine the levels and distribution of genetic differentiation within and among populations of Astragalus oniciformis. Fifteen individuals from each of eight populations, chosen from throughout the range of the species, were selected for their accessibility, density of individuals, and large population size. Two disjunct eastern populations selected for this study have been separated from the continuous western populations for 3600 years by an eight-mile wide, inhospitable lava flow. Inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) were chosen as the marker to assess genetic differentiation. Two primers were selected that yielded 40 loci, all of which were polymorphic in A. oniciformis. In an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), 88.69 percent of the variation was significantly attributed to variation within populations. The differentiation between the two disjunct populations and the western populations was insignificant. High gene flow (Nm=3.91-3.93) and a low percent deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium due to population subdivision (G[subscript st]=0.113-0.1134) were found among populations of A. oniciformis. These results suggest that current threats to this species, ranging from plant community changes due to changing fire patterns, habitat alteration from livestock grazing, and habitat loss from agricultural development have not yet affected the genetic diversity of this species. Preservation of the numerous, large populations and the high gene flow will help insure that the levels of genetic diversity found in Astragalus oniciformis will not decrease. / Graduation date: 2002

Effect of a sudangrass green manure in two soil types on the activity, populations and community structure of soil microorganisms, populations of Verticillium dahliae in soil and on potato roots, and potato early dying, were evaluated in a field microplot experiment in the Columbia Basin. Potato cv. Russet Burbank was grown in identical green manure and fallow soil treatments transported from Idaho and Washington where sudangrass previously suppressed or enhanced early dying of potatoes, respectively. Incorporation of sudangrass increased total microbial activity (TMA) by 46.2 and 30.1% in the Idaho soil in 1996 and 1997, and by 43.0% in the Washington soil in 1996 only. Neither green manure or soil type, however, affected soil populations of Fusarium, total bacteria, or actinomycetes. Across soil type, fluorescent pseudomonad populations were unaffected or increased by 107% in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Although not repeated across years, Fusarium root populations were 19.7 and 28.3% higher in sudangrass treated soil from Washington in 1996 and Idaho in 1997, respectively, but the proportion of Fusarium species were similar across soil types. Bacterial rhizosphere communities, based on sole-carbon-source utilization patterns on Biolog GN microplates, did not differ among the soil types or green manure treatments. Across soil type, V. dahliae soil and root populations were unaffected in 1996, but were lower by 20.4 and 41.2% in Idaho sudangrass soil treatments in 1997. Apical stem populations of V. dahliae and disease severity, however, did not differ among the treatments. Although tuber yield in Washington soil was 31.5% higher than Idaho soil in 1996, yield was not affected by a sudangrass green manure. Because suppression of early dying of potato observed in Idaho was not replicated in transported soil in the Columbia Basin, the macroenvironment may interact with the sudangrass green manure to regulate the effect, or lack of effect on disease. TMA is not an indicator of disease suppressive ability of a soil following sudangrass as activity increased despite a lack of effect on disease. Based on this study, there is no evidence for differences in microbial populations or communities between the Idaho and Washington soils that could explain the suppression or enhancement of early dying of potato by a sudangrass green manure. / Graduation date: 1998

Graduation date: 1991

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Montana, 2008. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Aug. 26, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-69).

Thesis (MS)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2008. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: David R. Lageson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-93).