 Our brown bear studies began with a two year pilot project (summers of 2000
and 2001) on northern Chichagof Island. We developed methods for
mapping habitat characteristics (primarily vegetation and anadromous
qualities) and signs of use by bears. Bear use was surveyed and
monitored through mapping 'perennial' bear sign (trails, habitual mark
trees and bedding areas) and 'ephemeral' bear sign (scat, carcasses,
bed activity, and digging activity). The purpose of the mapping was to
provide ecological context for studying changes in bear behavior when
interacting with humans at important feeding areas, and to further our
general understanding of brown bear patterns of habitat use.
While
working on Baranof Island in 2002 and Admiralty Island in 2003 &
2004 we refined the bear sign mapping techniques and greatly advanced
our use of GPS/GIS technology for spatial accuracy and productivity. We have now mapped over 150 miles of bear trails while
working on the mainland at Berners Bay and Glacier Bay, and amongst the
Alexander Archipelago on Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof Islands.
Bear trails can tell us a lot about long-term patterns of habitat use.
Click on the inset map to take a closer look. Kind of a no-brainer... but an important contribution all the same. The
rapid survey techniques we have developed for brown bear habitat
assessments are very effective for answering site specific questions
and are readily adaptable to other focal species or habitats.
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Southeast Chichagof Bear project |
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Tuesday, 29 August 2006 |
 During the summer of 2005 we worked in cooperation with the Sitka Ranger District (USFS) on brown bear habitat assessments at several sites on Chichagof and Baranof Islands. The purpose of the field work was to collect high resolution habitat and signs of use data for a variety of wildlife and human use management questions. The areas surveyed ranged from pristine to highly modified watersheds and provided an excellent overview of existing brown bear habitat conditions on the northern Tongass National Forest. GIS analysis and report writing for this project is underway.
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Pack Creek Zoological Area (PCZA) Brown Bear project |
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Tuesday, 29 August 2006 |
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 During the winter of 2005 we completed a Landscape-scale assessment of brown bear habitat with an emphasis on providing management guidance for recreation planning. This work was conducted at the Pack Creek Zoological Area on Admiralty island and is being used by Forest Service managers for long-term planning.
click here to view a .pdf version of the report for this project. click here to view a .pdf version of poster presented at the 2005 ESRI conference. click here to view the map gallery for this project.
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Sunday, 10 September 2006 |
 The purpose of this project was to field test survey methods for rapid habitat assessment and signs of its use by brown bears (brown bear quick cruise1), and to provide conservation groups and management agencies high resolution information relevant to bear habitat management in the Berners Bay estuary and near-shore uplands (Fig. 1). Berners Bay was an ideal place to perform a trial of the brown bear quick cruise (BBQC) because it enabled us to add new habitat variables to our existing test record, including: large mainland river location, the presence of black bears, and the presence of moose. Although SEAWEAD did not conduct this research with the intention of gathering data suitable for detailed analysis, we were able to survey critical seasonal feeding areas and traditional travel routes. The resultant data are relevant to an environmental assessment of a proposed road in the area. Funding and in-kind support were provided by Friends of Berners Bay, the Skaggs Foundation, Sierra Club Juneau Chapter, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Field crew support was provided by Ayme Johnson and Aaron Wells.
Click here to check out the Berners Bay report (5 megabytes). Click here for a low resolution version.
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Sunday, 10 September 2006 |
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 SEAWEAD naturalists conducted a brown bear habitat use survey to provide ecological context for a bear/human interaction study, and site intensive information for State and Federal management considerations. The methods were designed to gather descriptive information on the character and quality of the habitat mosaic in the lower Lake Eva watershed, and signs of its use by brown bears. The work involved mapping plant and stream characteristics, mapping perennial bear sign (e.g. trails, sign trees & day beds), and surveying for ephemeral bear sign (e.g. scat, bed activity & signs of feeding). The focus area encompassed approximately 350 acres of the lower Lake Eva watershed (Figure 1). Reconnaissance surveys were conducted at the Lake Eva inlet and in several neighboring drainages to provide a landscape level perspective.
Click here to view the Lake Eva report.
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