Publications

The planned removal of two dams that have been in place for over 95 years on the Elwha River provides a unique opportunity to study dam removal effects. Among the largest dams ever considered for removal, this project is compelling because 83% of the watershed lies undisturbed in Olympic National Park. Eighteen million cubic meters of sediment have accumulated in and will be released...

Amphibian populations continue to be imperiled by the chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). Understanding where B. dendrobatidis (Bd) occurs and how it may be limited by environmental factors is critical to our ability to effectively conserve the amphibians affected by Bd. We sampled 1247 amphibians (boreal toads and surrogates) at 261 boreal toad (Bufo boreas) breeding sites...

Dam removal and subsequent restoration of salmon to the Elwha River is expected to cause a shift in nutrient dynamics within the watershed. To document how this influx of nutrients and energy may affect black bear (Ursus americanus) ecology, we used radio-telemetry to record movements of 11 male and two female black bears in the Elwha Valley from 2002-06. Our objective was to collect...

Episodic stand-replacing wildfire is a significant disturbance in mesic and moist Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) forests of the Pacific Northwest. We studied 24 forest stands with known fire histories in the western Cascade Range in Oregon to evaluate long-term impacts of stand-replacing wildfire on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools and dynamics within the forest...

We used naturally occurring stable isotopes of N to compare N dynamics in near-stream and upslope environments along riparian catenas in N-fixing red alder (Alnus rubra) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in the Coast Range of western Oregon. Based on the existing literature, we expected soil δ15N to be enriched closer to streams owing to inputs of isotopically heavy, marine...

Landscapes available to birds to select for breeding locations are arrayed along multiple dimensions. Identifying the primary gradients structuring shrubsteppe bird communities in the western United States is important because widespread habitat loss and alteration are shifting the environmental template on which these birds depend. We integrated field habitat surveys, GIS coverages, and...

Introduction Strong evidence indicates that western juniper has significantly expanded its range since the late 1800s by encroaching into landscapes once dominated by shrubs and herbaceous vegetation (fig. 1). Woodland expansion affects soil resources, plant community structure and composition, water, nutrient and fire cycles, forage production, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity. Goals...

This protocol narrative outlines the rationale, sampling design and methods for monitoring landbirds in the North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) during the breeding season. The NCCN, one of 32 networks of parks in the National Park System, comprises seven national park units in the Pacific Northwest, including three large, mountainous, natural area parks (Mount Rainier [MORA] and...

The Plethodon elongatus Complex in the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion of southern Oregon and northern California includes three species: the Del Norte salamander, Plethodon elongatus; the Siskiyou Mountains salamander, P. stormi; and the Scott Bar salamander, P. asupak. This review aims to summarize the current literature and information available on select topics for P. stormi and P. asupak...

We used a double-sampling technique (air plus ground survey) in 2006, with partial double coverage, to estimate the present size of the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nesting population in northwestern Mexico. With the exception of Natividad, Cedros, and San Benito Islands along the Pacific Coast of Baja California, all three excluded from our coverage in 2006 due to fog, this survey was a...

Overall, we estimated a total metapopulation within the geographical range of the California brown pelican subspecies (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) as about 70,680 ? 2,640 breeding pairs (mean ? SD). Little change in at least three decades is indicated in the total metapopulation south of the Southern California Bight (SCB) subpopulation, but significant improvements in the...

Background and Objectives As part of the National Park Service's larger goal of developing long-term monitoring programs in response to the Natural Resource Challenge of 2000, the parks of the North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) have determined that monitoring of landscape dynamics is necessary to track ecosystem health (Weber and others, 2005). Landscape dynamics refer to a broad...