No studies have evaluated the effects of limited vehicle access on movements, survival and habitat use of Roosevelt
elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) . We installed twenty gates, restricting motorized vehicle access by the public in
seven discrete Road Management Areas (RMAs), comprising 35% of the study area. We radio-tracked 31 cow
elk for 13 months in a 38,000 ha area of the Oregon Coast Range. Prior to the installation of the gates, 20 of these
elk had been tracked for 14 months, allowing a paired comparison of elk movements and habitat use before and
during the limited access period. The percentage of elk home ranges or core areas within the RMAs did not differ
between periods, but there was a clear decrease in daily movement of elk during the limited access period. Survival
rates increased during the limited access period and declined after the removal of the gates. During the limited
access period, there was a significant increase in the use of open, foraging habitats and areas <150 m from roads.
We conducted habitat selection analysis on vegetative cover types, distance from roads and distance from water.
In general elk use of vegetative cover types was not significantly different from availability (p<0.05). Elk avoided
areas <150 m from roads and selected areas >150 m from roads. Elk selected areas <150 m from streams and
avoided areas >600 m from streams. Roosevelt elk should benefit from the preferred alternative of the President's
forest Plan, which maintains roadless areas near streams. / Graduation date: 1996
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/34898 |
| Date | 07 March 1996 |
| Creators | Cole, Eric K. |
| Contributors | Anthony, Robert G. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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