Migration Corridors of Elk in the East Shasta Valley Herd in California

The East Shasta Valley sub-herd of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni) spend most of their time on private ranchlands in Shasta Valley in the winter. This area offers patches of oak woodlands and grasslands on gentle slopes. In the spring, elk migrate to their summer range around Grass Lake, Bull Meadows, and Deer Mountain where the habitat is primarily characterized by mixed conifer timber stands of Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). The meadows around Grass Lake seem especially important to this sub-herd, as neonatal calves have been documented in this area since at least 1984 (Fischer 1987). Some animals from this sub-herd migrate into Oregon or move eastward to other sub-herds, but Highway 97 presents a significant barrier to this movement with many documented vehicle collisions between Horsethief Creek, and Grass Lake Summit. A wildlife crossing is proposed for this area to promote habitat connectivity and wildlife movement. These data provide the location of migration corridors for elk in the East Shasta Valley population in California. They were developed from 59 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 18 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 3-8 hours.

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  "geospatial"
]