Snowshoe Hare use of Silviculturally Altered Conifer Forests in The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Abstract

Information about snowshoe hare habitat use in key Canada lynx recovery areas, such as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, is critical for the conservation of lynx. Although research conclusions differ in regard to the types and ages of forests preferred by snowshoe hares, restrictions on silvicultural practice have been implemented by forest managers to protect snowshoe hares in this area. However, some research suggests that regenerating lodgepole pine stands associated with silvicultural treatments benefit snowshoe hares. We evaluated three indices of snowshoe hare use within a timber management area in southwest Montana, inside the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (1999–2012) to assess the relative use of forest types. We analyzed: 1) 11 years of data collected from 280 pellet plots using linear mixed models and AICc model selection, 2) 13 years of track counts from 2,202 km of roadway travel using Chi-squared goodness-of-fit tests of proportional segment lengths and the associated cover types, and 3) 76 nights over one winter of live-trapping using a hare/night index. Overall, we observed the greatest use within the youngest two classes of regenerating lodgepole pine stands that were associated with clear cutting and pre-commercial thinning. These results suggest snowshoe hares prefer silviculturally influenced 30–60 years old lodgepole pine forests.