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USGS Data Source

Migration Routes of Elk in South Bighorn Herd in Wyoming

Elk (Cervus elpahus canadensis) within the southern section of the Bighorn Mountains display altitudinal migration. In the spring, most individuals migrate from the western foothills up into the mountains, and in the fall, they head back down to lower elevations (fig. 68). In the southern section where the range curves west, the herd migrates up the northern foothills in the spring and back down in the fall. Additionally, a few individuals will summer on the eastern foothills along the Crazy Woman drainage. These individuals migrate west up the slopes in the spring and back down in the fall. The herd, which numbers around 4,000, primarily winters along the western foothills of the southern Bighorn Mountains just east of route 434 (Upper Nowood rd.), though some will winter east towards Buffalo. Winter ranges consist primarily of low growing shrubs with smaller areas of herbaceous grasslands, largely supported by private land with scattered areas of BLM land. During migration, animals travel an average one way distance of 24 mi (39 km) ranging from as little as 10 mi (16 km) to as far as 62 mi (100 km). In spring, animals migrate off winter range and head east or south up the western or northern side of the Bighorn Mountains. Summer ranges consist of shrub land with smaller areas of evergreen forests. The summer range is a mix of private land and BLM land, though the northern most individuals summer predominantly within the boundaries of the Bighorn National Forest. The population size of the herd has remained relatively steady over the last decade. There is a concern for the animals on both their winter and summer ranges because they largely consists of private land. Similarly, while their migration routes are relatively short, and do not cross any highways, there is still a concern due to the large extent of private land along the route. These data provide the location of migration routes for elk in the South Bighorn population in Wyoming. They were developed from 89 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 33 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 2 hours.

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Author(s) Matthew J Kauffman orcid, Blake H Lowrey orcid, Jeffrey Beck, Jodi Berg orcid, Scott Bergen, Joel Berger orcid, James W Cain orcid, Sarah Dewey, Jennifer Diamond, Orrin Duvuvuei, Julien Fattebert orcid, Jeff Gagnon, Julie Garcia, Evan Greenspan orcid, Embere Hall, Glenn Harper, Stan Harter, Kent Hersey, Pat Hnilicka, Mark Hurley, Lee Knox, Art Lawson, Eric Maichak, James Meacham, Jerod Merkle orcid, Arthur Middleton, Daniel Olson, Lucas Olson, Craig Reddell, Benjamin S Robb orcid, Gabe Rozman, Hall Sawyer orcid, Cody Schroeder, Brandon Scurlock orcid, Jeff Short, Scott Sprague, Alethea Steingisser, Nicole Tatman
Publication Date 2022-04-07
Beginning Date of Data 2017-01-01
Ending Date of Data 2019-12-31
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DOI https://doi.org/10.5066/P9TKA3L8
Citation Kauffman, M.J., Lowrey, B.H., Beck, J., Berg, J., Bergen, S., Berger, J., Cain, J.W., Dewey, S., Diamond, J., Duvuvuei, O., Fattebert, J., Gagnon, J., Garcia, J., Greenspan, E., Hall, E., Harper, G., Harter, S., Hersey, K., Hnilicka, P., Hurley, M., Knox, L., Lawson, A., Maichak, E., Meacham, J., Merkle, J., Middleton, A., Olson, D., Olson, L., Reddell, C., Robb, B.S., Rozman, G., Sawyer, H., Schroeder, C., Scurlock, B., Short, J., Sprague, S., Steingisser, A., and Tatman, N., 2022, Migration Routes of Elk in South Bighorn Herd in Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9TKA3L8.
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Metadata Date 2022-04-07
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Harvest Source: ScienceBase
Harvest Date: 2024-02-24T09:44:24.901Z