great sand dunes national park and preserve management plan and environmental impact statement...

Ungulate Management Plan and Environmental Impact StatementNational Park ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve


Ungulate Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement

Colorado Wildlife Commission BriefingNovember 16, 2017



Presentation Outline

Purpose and need for Ungulate Management Plan

Planning process to date

Elk Management activities proposed

Alternatives/management tools retained & dismissed

Habitat Based Adaptive Management

Schedule

NPS Photos



Need For The PlanThis planning effort is needed because:

Elk and bison are currently on the landscape and this plan will address their management and impacts, both positive and negative, in support of desired habitat conditions.

Elk are concentrating on the park and may be reaching densities that could degrade habitat conditions over time if actions are not taken

Bison are currently managed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC)on the Medano Ranch and portions of the park, and a decision is needed to determine whether bison will be maintained as wildlife on the park and how to manage bison after a proposed land acquisition.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) Bison Conservation Initiative and National Park Service Call To Action (Back Home on the Range), combined with new information about bison habitat in the San Luis Valley, require a reexamination of the potential for bison conservation following the 2007 General Management Plan (GMP).



Elk Management tools proposed in the draft EIS

Elk management tools included in this plan

Public hunting continues on the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve (per State Regulations)

•Additional Elk Management tools proposed for the Park

• Non-lethal tools (e.g. hazing, fencing)

• Limited lethal removal utilizing skilled Volunteers as as a dispersal tool on the Park

• Lethal removal utilizing skilled Volunteers to reduce population on the Park if warranted under the adaptive management framework

• actions would be informed by habitat conditions, NPS would closely consider results from monitoring and consult with partners to determine effective amount of take to protect park resources

• Exclosure fencing to protect sensitive areas as needed

• Potential for collaboration with USFWS and CPW to meet shared elk management objectives



Habitat Based Adaptive Management Framework for management

Manage toward desired habitat conditions by monitoring resource conditions and learning over time in accordance with the DOI Adaptive Management Technical Guide 2009.

When a threshold is “tripped” more intensive management would be employed to protect park resources.

5 year agreement with Rocky Mountain Network (NPS)to establish habitat baselines and trends



Topics of interest from GRSA on implementation of the Elk Management Plan

• Finding common objectives which GRSA and CPW share in order to collaborate on elk management at a landscape scale

• How can GRSA and CPW work together to meet common objectives?

• Engage with CPW and other stakeholders on implementing elk management actions, possibly using trained-skilled public volunteers Trained volunteers would be utilized in actions similar to those

conducted at Rocky Mountain, Theodore Roosevelt and Wind Cave National Parks

State wildlife agencies assisted in:– Recruiting and training volunteers– Donation of meat



Trained Public Volunteer Program would be focused on:

• Lethal removal of animals primarily for dispersal initially

• Dispersing elk to adjacent public or private lands where licensed hunters can legally harvest animals would be the objective

• Avoiding moving elk to agricultural areas West of the park

• Lethal removal for population control if dispersal is not achieving resource protection goals after the initial action( this will still disperse elk)



Data needs for elk management

Opportunities for collaboration with CPW and other agencies?

• Summer and winter elk counts Summer counts needed to establish year-round

resident elk versus winter migrants • Collaring elk: Collared elk to locate elk for dispersal actions on the

park and to keep up with where elk disperse to• Elk study to determine if elk dispersal actions are effective Larger scale long term collaring project to better

understand elk distribution on the landscape



Proposed Bison management tools

Bison fencing Exclosure fencing Roundup and capture in existing handling facilities

Transfer to other parks or agencies to for conservation purposes (vaccinate prior) Transfer to processing facilities

Limited lethal removal by sharpshooters for population management NPS or authorized agents

Non-lethal hazing (e.g. non-lethal rounds, noisemaking, horses, motorized vehicles, helicopters)



Alternatives/Alternative Elements/Management Tools Considered and Dismissed

Non-lethal elk management only Public hunting within the National Park Predator introduction (e.g. wolves, grizzly bears) Fertility control (elk and bison) Construct bison fence around entire Park and Preserve Construct bison fence to allow bison to roam in the southeast corner of the

park or east of the dunefield Gather and translocate live elk

NPS Photo



Challenges:

• Avoiding conflicts that could result from elk dispersing into areas where they could cause damage

• Funding



NPS Photo

great sand dunes national park and preserve management plan and environmental impact statement...

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