Final Environmental Impact Statement

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Vestal Final Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 necessary for gliding. Locations where flying squirrels were found in Wind Cave National Park did have large pines. Stands of dense doghair pine were avoided (Duckwitz 2001). Hough (2009) found that ponderosa pine is the most important foraging habitat in the Black Hills. Flying squirrels selected areas with larger trees and more canopy cover. Structural stages 1, 2 and 3B were avoided, SS 3C and 4B were selected for, and SS 3A, 4A and 4C were used in proportion to availability. Aspen and birch were avoided for foraging because flying squirrels are associated with mixed conifer-hardwood forests, feeding primarily on truffles associated with conifers; however, aspen and birch are important for den sites (Hough 2009). Grass and shrub areas do not provide good foraging habitat due to the lack of fungus growth and seed production (Hough 2009). Structural stages 3A, 3C, 4A, 4B, 4C and 5 all provide suitable habitat on the Forest. Standing snags and downed logs are also habitat components. Northern flying squirrels typically nest in tree cavities or abandoned woodpeckers holes in winter and summer. They may also build nests of twigs, bark, and roots and use abandoned bird nest platforms in summer (Wells-Gosling & Heaney 1984). Although flying squirrels are thought to prefer mesic, mature, spruce forests in the Black Hills, mature and late-successional stage pine forests (SS 4C and 5) on more mesic sites may also contain the snag resource northern flying squirrels appear to require. The Forest is conserving habitat for the northern flying squirrel in regards to spruce habitat, but progress towards increasing the acres of structural stage 5 and the very large tree component in Management Areas 5.4 and 5.43 is still needed to enhance habitat (USDA Forest Service 2010). This nocturnal mammal is a resident of the mountainous areas of the western United States and boreal forests of North America. The northern flying squirrel in the Black Hills is an isolated population with the nearest population located in the forests of western Wyoming (Clark & Stromberg 1987, Wells-Gosling & Heaney 1984). Meadow Jumping Mouse (SOLC) This species is strongly associated with riparian habitats along small streams in meadows and habitats beneath forests with an understory of deciduous shrubs, grasses, forbs and fallen logs; it is presumed to disperse primarily along stream corridors (Luce et al. 1999). The meadow jumping mouse is a profound and continuous hibernator, retreating to burrows in dry ground from October to May. Burrows are also used for nests (Luce et al. 1999). Domestic animal overgrazing, which consistently removes dense vegetation along eastern creeks in Wyoming, is thought to have contributed to this species’ scarcity (WYNDD 2002). However, there is little evidence that the mouse is scarce relative to historic abundance. Zapus in general tend to occur at relatively low abundance and it is uncertain whether the current abundance is different than the past. Limits to abundance and distribution include reduction of understory shrubs, grasses and forbs in low-to-mid elevation riparian areas (Luce et al. 1999, WYNDD 2002). Fragmentation of appropriate riparian habitat may limit this species’ ability to disperse. Meadow jumping mice range across Alaska through Canada, the northern and eastern United States, and across the Great Plains to the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains 68
Vestal Final Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 (WYNDD 2002, Whitaker 1972). The Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius campestris) is a separate subspecies that occurs in the Black Hills region (Beauvais 2001) and is listed as rare in Wyoming (Luce et al. 1999). There are seven recorded occurrences of this species on the Bearlodge Mountains of the Black Hills, including the type specimen collected in 1864 (WYNDD 2002). Turner (1974) collected a total of 207 specimens from across the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains in South Dakota and Wyoming. He collected the species as far south as Wind Cave National Park and characterized it as common throughout the study area (Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains). Cryan and Ellison (2005) found the species still occurs throughout the Black Hills area. An observation of this species occurred within the Vestal project area along Upper French Creek. Mountain Goat (SOLC) This species inhabits rugged terrain including cliffs, rock faces, ledges, and talus slopes, typically above timberline. The mountain goat is found most abundantly on rock outcrops and high elevation meadows. The range of the mountain goat extends from the northern United States Rocky Mountains to southeast Alaska (Clark & Stromberg 1987). Mountain goats are characteristically found in sub-alpine and alpine tundra areas in the Northern Rockies and coastal mountain ranges of western North America (Higgins et al. 2000). Foraging habitat is alpine meadow, grassland, and montane shrubland (Benzon & Rice 1987). Recommendations for improving habitat for the species consist of thinning dense stands of ponderosa pine, maintaining meadows and placing clear-cuts next to or interspersed between granite outcroppings (Ted Benzon, Big Game Biologist, SDGFP, Division of Wildlife, personal communication). Mountain goats feed throughout the morning, rest at midday, and resume feeding in the late afternoon, continuing into the evening. A wide range of forage is utilized including chokecherry, Russian buffaloberry, grasses and sedges, quaking aspen, serviceberry, wild rose, willow, and hazel (Richardson 1971). Usually the most available forage rather than the most palatable forage is consumed (Richardson 1971). Primary range and habitat of the mountain goat in the Black Hills covers about 2,000 acres and is centered around Harney Peak and the Needles (Richardson 1971). Mountain goat populations appear to be trending downward from an estimated population of 168 animals in 2002 (USDA Forest Service 2004) to 80 animals in 2009 (Huxoll 2010). However, in 2010, population increased little to 90 animals (Huxoll 2011). The cause of the mountain goat population decline is unknown. Possible causes include high predator (mountain lion) numbers, genetics (all descendants from a small number of goats in 1924), and/or loss of or lack of habitat. The Forest will continue to coordinate with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks to determine if more specific habitat management actions are needed to conserve/enhance habitat for this species (USDA Forest Service 2010). Since 2007, no hunting licenses have been issued for this species. The Black Hills mountain goat population occurs largely within the Black Elk Wilderness (MA 1.1A), somewhat in the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve (MA 5.4A), Buckhorn Mountain (MA 4.1) where patch clearcuts have been created to provide for forage, and within Crazy Horse boundary. 69
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Final Environmental Impact Statement

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