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Ungulate migrations of the western United States, volume 3

December 15, 2022

Ungulates (hooved mammals) have a broad distribution across the western United States and play an important role in maintaining predator-prey dynamics, affecting vegetation communities, and providing economic benefits to regional communities through tourism and hunting. Throughout the diverse landscapes they occupy, many ungulate populations undertake seasonal migrations to exploit spatially and temporally variable resources and to avoid predation or other threats. As the human footprint continues to expand across the western United States, ungulates increasingly face more obstacles on their migratory journeys. These obstacles threaten the long-term persistence of existing migrations. As a result, wildlife management agencies across the western United States have worked to identify and protect (or enhance) ungulate migration corridors and seasonal ranges identified from global positioning system (GPS) collar data. These efforts garnered additional support through the U.S. Department of the Interior Secretarial Order (SO) 3362, which was initiated in 2018 and provided Federal support for enhancing habitat quality of big-game winter ranges and migration corridors across the western states.

Further, SO 3362 prompted the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish the Corridor Mapping Team (CMT): a collaboration between USGS and participating State and Federal wildlife management agencies, as well as numerous Tribal Nations. The CMT works collaboratively to map ungulate migrations and seasonal ranges throughout the western United States within the Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States report series. Volume 1 of the series was published in 2020 and contained migrations and winter ranges from 42 herds across 5 states. Volume 2 was published in 2022 and contained migrations and seasonal ranges from an additional 65 herds. This report, Volume 3 in the series, details migrations and seasonal ranges from an additional 45 herds throughout most western states. In aggregate, the report series has detailed and mapped the migrations and seasonal ranges of 152 ungulate herds and serves as a map-based inventory of the documented ungulate migrations across the western United States. The data layers for most of the herds included in the report series are also available to the public by the USGS. In addition to the included herd maps, this volume provides an overview of the many ways the mapping efforts associated with the CMT are being integrated into local conservation, management, and policy throughout the western United States.

Publication Year 2022
Title Ungulate migrations of the western United States, volume 3
DOI 10.3133/sir20225088
Authors Matthew Kauffman, Blake Lowrey, Jodi Berg, Scott Bergen, Doug Brimeyer, Patrick Burke, Teal Cufaude, James W. Cain III, Jeffrey Cole, Alyson Courtemanch, Michelle Cowardin, Julie Cunningham, Melia DeVivo, Jennifer Diamond, Orrin Duvuvuei, Julien Fattebert, Joanna Ennis, Darby Finley, Jessica Fort, Gary Fralick, Eric Freeman, Jeff Gagnon, Julie Garcia, Emily Gelzer, Morgan Graham, Jacob Gray, Evan Greenspan, L. Embere Hall, Curtis Hendricks, Andy Holland, Brian Holmes, Katey Huggler, Mark A. Hurley, Emily Jeffreys, Aran Johnson, Lee Knox, Kevin Krasnow, Zack Lockyer, Hannah Manninen, Mike McDonald, Jennifer L. McKee, James Meacham, Jerod Merkle, Barb Moore, Tony W. Mong, Clayton Nielsen, Brendan Oates, Kim Olsen, Daniel Olson, Lucas Olson, Matt Pieron, Jake Powell, Annemarie Prince, Kelly Proffitt, Craig Reddell, Corinna Riginos, Robert Ritson, Sierra Robatcek, Shane Roberts, Hall Sawyer, Cody Schroeder, Jessie Shapiro, Nova Simpson, Scott Sprague, Alethea Steingisser, Nicole Tatman, Benjamin Turnock, Cody Wallace, Laura Wolf
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Scientific Investigations Report
Series Number 2022-5088
Index ID sir20225088
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Coop Res Unit Seattle