Wildlife and Habitat Prescription for

Hoodoo-Hofert Property

Management Unit 23

East Kootenay Region, British Columbia

Prepared for:

Nature Trust ofBC

Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program

by:

Richard Klalki, B.Sc.

December, 2005

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... i

List of Figures and Tables ......................................................................................................... ii

List of Appendices .................................................................................................................... ii

Introduction.................................................................................................................. ............. 1

Site and stand description ......................................................................................................... 2

Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Treatment area summary and objectives ................................................................................... 6

Wildlife objectives and considerations ..................................................................................... 9

Badger (red list) .................................................................................................................. 10 "Columbian" sharp-tailed grouse (blue list) ....................................................................... 1 1 Lewis's woodpecker (blue list) ........................................................................................... 12

Plant Community objectives and considerations .................................................................... 13

Douglas firlsnowberrylbalsamroot (red list) ........................................................................ 13 Antelope brushlbluebunch wheatgrass (red list) ................................................................. 13 Bluebunch wheatgrass-junegrass (red list) ......................................................................... 14 Douglas fir-Western larch -spruce/pinegrass (blue list) ..................................................... 14

Additional concerns................................................................................................... ............. 16

Literature cited ........................................................................................................................ 17

Appendices .............................................................................................................................. 19

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List of Figures and Tables

Figure 1. Hoodoo-Hofert property location in the East Kootenay Region, BC ........................ 1

Figure 2. Map of Hoodoo-Hofert property with management unit 23 highlighted in red ........ 2

Figure 3. Soopolallie shrubs are common on management unit 23 .......................................... 3

Figure 4. Riparian corridor along northwest edge of treatment unit. ........................................ 4

Figure 5. Fire-killed stubs are scattered throughout the treatment unit. ................................... 5

Figure 6. Regenerating lodgepole pine and Douglas fir are encroaching on open grasslands ..................................................................................................... 6

Figure 7. Treatment unit and leave areas for management unit 23, Hoodoo-Hofert property ........................................................................................... 7

Figure 8. Game trail through thick Douglas fir and lodgepole pine regen in MU23-2 ............ 8

Figure 9. Culverts may act as underpasses for red-listed badger on the Hoodoo-Hofert property. .................................................................................................................. 11

. Table 1. Potential Listed Wildlife Species and Plant Communities for Management Unit 23 ................................................................................................... 6

Table 2. Area Summary ....................... ~ .................................................................................... 8

Table 3. Current and Target Stand Conditions for Management Unit 23 ................................. 9

Table 4. Potential Rare Plant Community Stocking Targets for Mangement Unit 23, Hoodoo-Hofert Property ............................................................................. 15

List of Appendices

Appendix 1. Wildlife/danger tree, photopoints and wildlife species observations in Management Unit 23, Hoodoo-Hofert Property, September-October, 2005

Appendix 2. Location of Vegetation Monitoring Plots, Unit 23, Hoodoo-Hofert Property

Appendix 3. Potential for Plant Community Restoration by Biogeoclimatic Zone

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Introduction The 4037 ha Hoodoo-Hofert property near Fa irmont Hotsprings (Fig. I) was purchased in 2003 by the Nature Trust of BC and several other conservation partners including the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (CBFWCP). The intent of the acqu isition was to protect the natural va lues on the property from increas ing land development and loss of regional biod iversity (Nature Trust 2004).The vision statement for the property is " to maintain, restore and enhance the ecolog ica l integrity of the Hoodoo­Hofert property in order to ensure the property 's biodiversity values are mai ntained in perpetuity" (Nature Trust 2004). As part of this vision, a management plan was developed in 2004 whi ch identifi es issues and priorities for maintenance and enhancement of natural resource values on the property .

Figure I. I-Ioodoo-I-I ofert property location in the East Kootcnny Region, Be .

A priority management issue identifi ed in the plan is to restore and enhance ecosystems that have been impacted by conifer ingrowth and encroachment due to fire suppression and past forest management. The combination of past land use practices has resulted in conversion of native grass lands and open forests to a closed fores t condition causing loss and degradation of critica l wil d life habitat and biodiversity, decreased forage producti on, estab li shment and spread of nox ious weeds, decreased forest hea lth, and increased ri sk of catastrophic wi ldfire (RMTERSC 2000). The intent of fire-maintained ecosystem gu ide lines are to improve the productiv ity and health of open forests and grass lands by restorin g stand structure and species composition through modern methods of timber harvesting, thinning and prescribed burning (RMTERSC 2000). The Hoodoo-Hofert property contains approx imate ly 2000 ha of open fo rest and grass land which require restorati on treatments to improve ecosystem function. Thi s prescription is one of three being developed to gu ide implementation of

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restoration activ ities on approximately 200 ha of the property. Additionally, the presence of rare and endangered (red- and blue-listed) w il dlife species and plant communities that may occur with in treatment units identified for restoration are considered in this prescription.

Site and stand description The treatment area co incides with management unit 23 which is located in the north-central portion of the property (F ig. 2) and is bounded on the east by Westside Road and on the north by Hawke Road (Nature Trust 2004).

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Figure 2. Map of Hoodoo-Hofcrt property with management unit 23 highlighted in red.

The treatment uni t's biogeoclimatic class ificat ion is split between Kootenay Dry Mild Interior Douglas fir Variant (lDFdm2) on the west and Undifferentiated Interior Douglas fir (IDFun) on the east (Braumandl and Curran 1992, Nature Trust 2004). The IDF subzones are classified as having very hot, dry summers and mild winters with very light snowfa ll. Snowpacks are generally ve ry shallow and of short duration , allowing soils to freeze to a shallow depth at some sites. Lack of so i I moisture and frost are major limitations to tree growth on most sites (Braumandl and Curran 1992).

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