2002 ANNUAL REPORT
USGS Biological Resources
Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
College of Natural Resources
Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-5290

2003 Coordinating Meeting
College of Natural Resources
Utah State University
9-10 April 2003
Cooperators:
USGS Biological Resources
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
CNR Utah State University
Wildlife Management Institute
U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service


2003
Annual Coordinating Committee Meeting
Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
College of Natural Resources
Dean’s Conference Room, NR 108
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Rotating Chair: 1992:USU, 1993:NBS, 1994:UDWR, 1995:WMI, 1996:USU, 1997:USGS,
1998:UDWR, 1999:WMI, 2000:USU, 2001:USGS, 2002:UDWR, 2003:WMI

THURSDAY, 10 APRIL 2003
8:30-9:30

Continental Breakfast (Dean’s Conference Room NR 108)

9:30-9:40

Introductions and Meeting Overview

9:40-11:00

2003 Unit Productivity (J. Bissonette, T. Edwards, P. Budy)

11:00-12:15

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
MANAGING FOR FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE IN UTAH IN A
CHALLENGING FISCAL ENVIRONMENT
Director Kevin Conway & UDWR personnel

12:15-1:00

Catered Lunch in the Dean’s Conference Room NE 108

1:00-1:45

Tour of new Spatial analysis Lab and ‘Bug” Lab

1:45-2:00

U. S. Geological Survey
WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE COOPERATIVE RESEARCH UNITS

Lynn Haines

2:00-2:30

Break & Conversation

2:45-4:00

College of Natural Resources
CHALLENGES AND INTIATIVES AT THE COLLEGE OF NATURAL
RESOURCES
Dean Fee Busby
Department Heads: Dave Roberts, Chris Luecke, Terry Sharik

4:00-5:00
5:00

Coordinating Committee Closed Meeting
Departure


2002 ANNUAL REPORT
USGS Biological Resources Division
Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
College of Natural Resources
Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-5290

2002 Research Activities of the Unit Staff
John A. Bissonette
Thomas C. Edwards
Phaedra E. Budy



Personnel
Cooperators – Coordinating Committee
United States Geological Survey
Lynn Haines,
Mid-Continent / Western Supervisor
U.S.D.I. Cooperative Research Units
c/o FWS, Denver Research Center
P.O. Box 25486, Denver, CO 80225

303-236-4816
Fax 303-236-7982
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Kevin Conway, Director
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
1594 West North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6301

801-538-4705
Fax 801-538-4709

Utah State University
F.E. “Fee” Busby, Dean
College of Natural Resources
Utah State University
Logan, UT 84322-5200

797-2452
Fax: 801-797-2443
Wildlife Management Institute

Len Carpenter
SW Field Director
4015 Cheney Drive
Fort Collins, CO. 80526

970- 223-1099

Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit Staff
John A. Bissonette
Leader & Professor
Forestry, Range, and Wildlife Sciences Department

Thomas C. Edwards, Jr.
Assistant Leader Wildlife & Associate Professor
Forestry, Range, and Wildlife Sciences Department

Phaedra E. Budy
Assistant Leader Fisheries & Assistant Professor
Aquatic, Watershed, and Earth Resources Department

Esther Biesinger
Business Manager
College of Natural Resources

Shauna Leavitt
Staff Assistant
Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit





Mission Statement
Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
2003
The major limiting influences upon fishery and wildlife resources in the Intermountain West are
terrestrial habitat degradation, loss of open space, and watershed and water issues. Loss of winter
range for big game by urban development on open space, degradation and loss of riparian areas by
agricultural practices, loss of wildlife rangeland habitat by practices such as sagebrush removal and
the planting of cattle forage, as well as change of reservoir and riverine habitat through activities
associated with hydroelectric and water delivery systems are the major factors that have and will
continue to affect natural resource management in Utah in years to come. Rapid population growth
in the state has exacerbated the pressures on both the terrestrial and aquatic resource. Given these
trends and the expertise of Unit personnel, the primary mission of the Unit is to address the urban
landscape interface, as well as food web and habitat related problems relating to the fishery and
wildlife resources of Utah and the Intermountain West.
Cooperating Faculty in the Department, College, and University will continue to be integrated into
Unit research to apply diverse expertise to all facets of a research problem. Expertise in sociological
science, survey methodology, as well as other pertinent fields, can be brought to bear on resource
problems. The primary motivation of the Unit is to solve pressing resource problems.
Technical expertise of the Unit staff includes: larger scale dynamics, geographical information
system and habitat restoration methodology, terrestrial habitat analysis, population management and
assessment, aquatic habitat ecology, fish population dynamics, aquatic food web dynamics, and
quantitative study design. Our research activities focus on landscape-level habitat studies,
ecological modeling of lake, reservoir, and riverine systems, and avian and terrestrial ecology.
Future research directions of the Unit will continue to involve endangered fish and wildlife species,
sustainable game and sport fish management, terrestrial and aquatic riparian studies, migratory
non-game bird research, geographical information system methodology, and landscape-level studies
involving modeling for future scenarios.
Graduate level courses being taught by unit personnel at Utah State University include Design and
Analysis of Ecological Research (emphasizes the research process), Topics in Spatial Ecology

(emphasizes space from an ecological as well as statistical perspective), Assessment of Fish and
Wildlife Populations (emphasizes sampling design and estimation of abundance and survival), and
Landscape Ecology (emphasizing theory and application of scale-related influences on wildlife
dynamics). Unit personnel are increasingly involved in continuing education/professional
advancement short courses for agency personnel.
The Unit is committed to academic pursuit of cooperator interests, and in particular, the needs of the
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Yet, the strength of the Unit is directly related to its ability to
attract outside funds. Research done in the state and region with non-cooperator funds provides
added benefits to cooperators. This Unit has and will continue to address resource issues associated
with its expertise to the benefit of Utah and the resource management community. Our primary
objective is quality science.


Unit Productivity
USGS Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Productivity
1 January 2002 to 31 December 2002

PUBLICATIONS
A.

SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

Bissonette, J. A. 2002. Scaling roads and wildlife: the Cinderella principle. Zeitschrift für
Jagdwissenschaft 48(2002):208-214 (supplement).
Bissonette, J. A., and I. Storch. 2002. Fragmentation: is the message clear? Conservation Ecology
6(2): 14. [online] URL: />Bissonette, J. A. 2002. Linking landscape patterns to biological reality. Pages 15-34 in J. A.
Bissonette and I. Storch (eds) Landscape Theory and Resource Management: Linking
Theory to Practice. Island Press, Covelo, CA.
Bissonette, J. A., T. Clevenger, and L. Fahrig (no precedence of authorship). 2002. Chapters 5&6,
pages 113-167 in Forman, R. T.T., D. Sperling, M. Binford, J. Bissonette, T. Clevenger, C.

Cutshall, V. Dale, L. Fahrig, C. Goldman, K. Heanue, J. Jones, F. Swanson, T. Turrentine, &
T. Winter. Road Ecology: Science and Solutions. Island Press, Covelo CA.
Budy, P., G.P. Thiede, N. Bouwes, C. Petrosky, and H. Schaller. 2002. Evidence linking delayed
mortality of Snake River salmon to their earlier hydrosystem experience. North American
Journal of Fisheries Management 22:35-51.
Cutler, R., T. C. Edwards, Jr., J. Alegria, and D. McKenzie. 2002. A sample design framework for
Survey and Manage species under the Northwest Forest Plan. Proceedings of the Section on
Statistics and Environment, 2001 Joint Statistical Meeting, American Statistical Association,
Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Edwards, T. C., Jr., G. G. Moisen, T. S. Frescino, and J. J. Lawler. 2002. Modeling multiple
ecological scales to link landscape theory to wildlife conservation. Pages 153-172 in J. A.
Bissonette and I. Storch, editors. Landscape ecology and resource management: making the
linkages. Island Press, Covelo, California, USA.
Guisan, A., T. C. Edwards, Jr., and T. Hastie, Guest Editors. 2002. Advances in GLM/GAM
modelling: from species' distribution to environmental management. Ecological Modelling
(Special Issue) 157:89-341.
Guisan, A., T. C. Edwards, Jr., and T. Hastie. 2002. Generalized regression modeling in ecological
research: setting the scene. Ecological Modelling 157:89-100.
Lawler, J. J., and T. C. Edwards, Jr. 2002. Landscape patterns as predictors of nesting habitat: a test
using four species of cavity-nesting birds. Landscape Ecoogy 17:233-245.


Lawler, J. J., and T. C. Edwards, Jr. 2002. Composition of cavity-nesting bird communities in
montane aspen woodland fragments: the roles of landscape context and forest structure.
Condor 104:890-896.
Storch, I. and J. A. Bissonette. 2002 The problem of linking scales in the use of indicator species in
conservation biology. Pages 73-92 in Bissonette, J. A. and I Storch (eds) Landscape Theory
and Resource Management: Linking Theory to Practice. Island Press, Covelo, CA.

Books

Bissonette, J. A., and I. Storch, eds. 2002. Landscape theory and Resource Management: Linking
Theory to Management. Island Press, Covelo, CA.463 pages.
Forman, R. T.T., D. Sperling, J. A. Bissonette, A. P. Clevenger, C. D. Cutshall, V. H. Dale, L.
Fahrig, R. France, C. R. Goldman, K. Heanue, J. A. Jones, F. J. Swanson, T. Turrentine, & T.
C. Winter. 2002. Road Ecology; Science and Solutions. Island Press, Covelo, CA. 481
pages.

In Press
Adair, William A., J. A. Bissonette, and B. Hearn. 2003. American marten resting-site
characteristics in western Newfoundland. Pages xx-xx in Harrison, D. J. & B. Hearn, eds.
Proceedings Third International Martes Symposium. In Press.
Bassett, S. D., and T. C. Edwards, Jr. In press. Effect of different sampling schemes on the spatial
placement of conservation reserves in Utah, USA. Biological Conservation.
Bissonette, J. A. In Press. Thinking differently at larger ecological scales: developing the strategy.
Proc. 12th Ann. Meeting Australasian Wildl. Manage. Soc., Darwin, Australia.
DeNormandie, J., and T. C. Edwards, Jr. The umbrella species concept and regional conservation
planning in southern California: a comparative study. Accepted, Conservation Biology.
Edwards, T. C., Jr., Cutler, R., L. Geiser, J. Alegria, and D. McKenzie. Assessing rarity and seral
stage association of species with low detectability: lichens in western Oregon and
Washington forests. Accepted, Ecological Applications.
Hellgren, E. C., and J. A. Bissonette. 2002. Collared peccary. Chapter in G. A. Feldhamer and B.
Thompson, eds., Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and economics.
Second edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, USA. In Press
Hunter, L. M., M. de J. Gonzalez, R. E. Toth, T. C. Edwards, Jr., and R. J, Lilieholm. Population
and development in the California Mojave Desert: natural habitat implications of alternative
futures. Accepted, Population Research and Policy Review.


In Review
Bjurlin, C., and J. A. Bissonette. In Review. Survival during early life stages of the desert tortoise

(gopherus agassizii) in the south-central Mojave Desert. Submitted to Journal of
Herpetology.
Budy, P. C. Luecke, and W. A. Wurtsbaugh. In Review. The effects of whole-lake fertilization on
the productivity of an oligotrophic nursery lake for endangered salmon. Submitted to
Oecologia.
McHugh, P., and P. Budy. In Review. Patterns of spawning habitat selection and site suitability for
two populations of Snake River spring chinook salmon. Submitted to Transactions of the
American Fisheries Society.
McHugh, P., P. Budy, and H. Schaller. In Review. A model-based assessment of the potential
response of Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon to habitat improvements.
Submitted to Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
Zakrajsek, E. J, and J. A. Bissonette. In Review. Ranking the risk of wildlife species to military
aircraft. Submitted to Wildlife Society Bulleting.

B.

TECHNICAL & SEMI-TECHNICAL PAPERS

Budy, P., E. A. de la Hoz, and G. P. Thiede. 2002. Logan River whirling disease study: factors
affecting trout population dynamics, abundance, and distribution in the Logan River, Utah.
Project XIII, Annual Report to Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. 67 pages.
Budy, P., T. Haddix, and G. P. Thiede. 2002. Rainbow trout growth and survival in Flaming Gorge
Reservoir. Project XIV, Annual Report to Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. 61 pages.
Johnson, J. A., B. A. Andres, and J. A. Bissonette. 2002 Breeding bird communities of major
mainland rivers in Southeast Alaska. Fish and Wildlife Service General Technical Report. In
Press.
McHugh, P., and P. Budy. 2002. A model-based approach to assessing the potential response of
chinook salmon to habitat improvements. Project Report No. 6. Cooperative Fish and
Wildlife Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan Utah. 2001(6):1-137.
Toth, R. E., T. C. Edwards, Jr., R. J. Lilieholm, D. A. Bell, and E. R. Buteau. 2002. Alternative

Futures for Utah's Wasatch Front: bioregional planning for the maintenance and
conservation of open space. Final Project Report No. 2002-2, USGS Utah Cooperative Fish
and Wildlife Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT 843232-5290 USA.
Toth, R. E., T. C. Edwards, Jr., R. J. Lilieholm, and L. M. Hunter. 2002. The development of
alternative future growth scenarios for the California Mojave Desert. Final Project Report


No. 2002-1, USGS Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Utah State
University, Logan, UT 843232-5290 USA.

C.

PROJECTS COMPLETED: THESES AND DISSERTATIONS

J. A. Bissonette
Mary Hammer. 2002. Effectiveness of earthen escape ramps in reducing big game mortality in
Utah. M.S. Thesis, Utah State University, 65 pages.
Adam Switalski. 2002 Coyote foraging ecology, vigilance, and behavioral cascades in response to
gray wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park. M.S. Thesis, Utah State University,
49 pages.
P. Budy
McHugh, P. 2002. A model-based approach to assessing the potential response of chinook salmon
to habitat improvements. MS Thesis. Utah State University.
T. C. Edwards
None this year.

D.

PAPERS AND POSTERS PRESENTED (FY 2002 ONLY)


Invited
Bissonette, J. A. Invited paper. 2002. Wildlife Populations: Effects of the roaded landscape.
Presented at the Transportation Research Board, 14 January 2002, Washington, D. C.
Bissonette, J. A. 2002. Wagon trains and fur trappers: early conservation in the United States.
Invited seminar given to the faculty of the Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan Fachgebiet
fuer Wildbiologie und Wildtiermanagement at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen,
Freising Germany, 28 June 2002.
Bissonette, J. A. 2002. Land fragmentation: mismatched philosophical and analytical approaches in
ecology. Invited Seminar presented at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 19
September 2002.
Bissonette, J. A. 2002. Early antecedents of conservation in the United States. Invited Seminar
presented to undergraduate honors class at the University of Vermont, 23 September, 2002.
Bissonette, J. A. 2002. Patterned landscapes and complicated population: curbing excessive
generality. Invited Seminars presented at the University of Massachusetts (11/4) and at
Harvard University (11/6).


Budy, P. 2002. Overview of current research in trout and salmon population dynamics and
conservation. Invited Seminar. USFWS Research Seminar Series, Columbia River
Fisheries Program Office, Portland, OR.
Edwards, T. C., Jr., G. G. Moisen, T. S. Frescino, and R. J. Schultz. Linking FIA products and
wildlife habitat modelling. Invited paper, Joint Meeting of the 4th Annual Forest Inventory
and Analysis Symposium and The Southern Mensurationists, New Orleans, Louisiana,
11/20/02.
Edwards, T. C., Jr., R Toth, and R. J. Lilieholm. Alternative Futures for Uath's Wasatch Front: the
conservation of open space. Invited paper, International Conference on Landscape Planning:
Landscape Planning in the Era of Globalization, Portoroz, Slovenia, 11/8/02.
Edwards, T. C., Jr. The analysis of rare ecological events: lichens and the interface between science
and policy in the area of the Pacific Northwest Forest Plan. Invited paper, Program in
Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nevada,

9/5/02.
Edwards, T. C., Jr. Species distribution modelling: lessons learned, opportunities unveiled. Invited
paper, Twelfth Annual National Gap Analysis Meeting, USFWS NCTC, Shepardstown, West
Virginia, 8/1/02.
Edwards, T. C., Jr., G. G. Moisen, T. S. Frescino, and J. J. Lawler. Modelling multiple ecological
scales: linking landscape theory to wildlife habitat conservation. Invited paper, Center for
Environmental Science, Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland, Frostburg,
Maryland, 4/11/02.
Edwards, T. C., Jr., G. G. Moisen, T. S. Frescino, and J. J. Lawler. Modelling multiple ecological
scales: linking landscape theory to wildlife habitat conservation. Invited paper, USDA FS
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, 3/12/02
Lilieholm, R. J., T. C. Edwards, Jr., R Toth. Alternative future growth scenarios for the California
Mojave Desert: assessing the impacts of growth on biodiversity. Invited paper,
International Conference on Landscape Planning: Landscape Planning in the Era of
Globalization, Portoroz, Slovenia, 11/8/02.
McHugh, P. Budy, P. 2002. Habitat assessment for spring/summer chinook salmon, parts I and II.
Invited Seminar. USFWS Research Seminar Series, Columbia River Fisheries Program
Office, Portland, OR.

Contributed
Johnson, J., B. Andres, and J. A. Bissonette. 2002. The importance of managing breeding bird
communities of major mainland rivers in Southeast Alaska. Partners in Flight, Western
Working Group, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. October 2002.


Bjurlin, C. D., and J. A. Bissonette. 2002. Desert tortoise nest site selection and embryogenisis in a
changing environment . Wildlife Society Annual Western Section Meeting ,Visalia, CA. 7-9
March 2002.
de la Hoz, E.A., and P. Budy. 2002. Distribution of Myxobolus cerebralis in the Logan River, Utah:
effects on salmonid populations. Bonneville Chapter of the American Fisheries Society,

Pocatello, Idaho.
de la Hoz, E.A., and P. Budy. 2002. Distribution of Myxobolus cerebralis in the Logan River, UT:
effects on salmonid populations. American Fisheries Society, Baltimore, Maryland.
de la Hoz, E.A., and P. Budy. 2002. Assessing the effects of disease and other environmental factors
on the dynamics, abundance, and distribution of endemic trout populations in the Logan
River, Utah. Society for Conservation Biology. Canterbury, UK.
de la Hoz, E. A., and P. Budy. 2002. Distribution of Myxobolus cerebralis in the Logan River, UT:
effects on salmonid populations. Poster. 8th Annual Whirling Disease Symposium.
Denver, Colorado.
McHugh, P., P. Budy, and H. A. Schaller. 2002. An assessment of Snake River spring/summer
chinook salmon spawning habitat suitability using logistic regression techniques.
Bonneville Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Pocatello, Idaho.
McHugh, P., and P. Budy. A model-based assessment of the potential response of selected Snake
River spring/summer chinook salmon populations to habitat improvements. North American
Benthological Society, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Haddix, T., P. Budy, and G. P. Thiede. 2002. Factors affecting rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus
mykiss) growth and survival in Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Utah-Wyoming. Bonneville
Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Pocatello, Idaho.
Haddix, T., P. Budy, and G. P. Thiede. 2002. Factors affecting rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus
mykiss) growth and survival in Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Utah-Wyoming. American
Fisheries Society, Baltimore, Maryland.
Schultz, R. J., and T. C. Edwards, Jr. Development and validation of predictive models of cavity
nesting bird habitat in the Fishlake National Forest. Paper presented at the Joint Meeting of
the 4th Annual Forest Inventory and Analysis Symposium and The Southern
Mensurationists, New Orleans, Louisiana, 11/19/02.
Schultz, R. J., Jr., T. C. Edwards, Jr., G. G. Moisen, and T. S. Frescino. Scale dependency in habitat
selection by cavity nesting birds in Fishlake National Forest, Utah. Poster presented at the
2002 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Tucson, Arizona, 8/5/02.



E.

CLASSES AND SHORT COURSES

J. A. Bissonette
FW6700/7700, Landscape Ecology: 3 credit hours, graduate class, Winter Semester, 14
students.
Protected Areas Workshop conducted at the Technische Universität München, Freising,
Germany, 25 May, 2002.
P. Budy
Large River Management (WS 6330), 3 units, spring semester, co-taught with J. Schmidt.
Fish Ecology (FW 6230/7230), 3 units, spring semester.
T. C. Edwards
FRWS 6500 Design and Analysis of Ecological Research, Fall 02, 4 credits,
graduate, 35 students
FWS 6510 Topics in Spatial Ecology, Spring 02, 1 credit, graduate, 7 students

F.

RECOGNITION & AWARDS

J. A. Bissonette
Senior Fulbright Scholar, Technische Universität München, January - June 2002.
Visiting Professor, Aiken School of Natural Resources and Vermont Cooperative Fish and
Wildlife Research Unit, September – November 2002
P. Budy
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Utah State University, Faculty Advisor of the Year,
2002.

G.


SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS

J. A. Bissonette
2003 International Wildlife Management Congress, Christchurch, New Zealand
Chairman, Publications Committee
Member, Program Committee
Member, Support of Symposia and Conferences Committee


Member, Site-Selection Committee
P. Budy
USFWS June Sucker Recovery Team.
USU Department of Aquatic Watershed and Earth Resources, Graduate Academic
Review Committee.
USU College of Natural Resources, Educational Policy Committee.
USU, College of Natural Resources, Graduate Fellowship Advisory Committee.
T. C. Edwards
Statistical Advisory Group, USDA Forest Service
Survey and Management Program, Pacific Northwest Forest Management Plan