Plant and animal species have been used for decades as indicators of air and water quality and agricultural and range conditions. Increasingly, vertebrates are used to assess population trends and habitat quality for other species. In this paper we review the conceptual bases, assumptions, and published guidelines for selection and use of vertebrates as ecological indicators. We conclude that an absence of precise definitions and procedures, confounded criteria used to select species, and discordance with ecological literature severely weaken the effectiveness and credibility of using vertebrates as ecological indicators. In many cases the use of ecological indicator species is inappropriate, but when necessary, the following recommendations will make their use more rigorous: (1) clearly state assessment goals, (2) use indicators only when other assessment options are unavailable, (3) choose indicator species by explicitly defined criteria that are in accord with assessment goals, (4) include all species that fulfill stated selection criteria (5) know the biology of the indicator in detail, and treat the indicator as a formal estimator in conceptual and statistical models, (6) identify and define sources of subjectivity when selecting monitoring and intetpreting indicator species, (7) submit assessment design, methods of data collection and statistical analysis, interpretations, and recommendations to peer review and (8) direct research at developing an overall strategy for monitoring wildlife that accounts for natural variability in population attributes and incorporates concepts from landscape ecology.

In the 1980s resource managers were increasingly concerned about effects of timber harvest on ungulates in National Forests. Land and resource management plans incorporated restrictions on timber harvest to maintain cover for Rocky Mountain elk (Cefvus elaphus nelsoni V. Bailey) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus Rafinesque), and habitat models were used to predict effectiveness of various habitat components for these ungulates. Many of the assumptions on which these models were based were untested, however. The Starkey Project, in northeastern Oregon, was begun to address some of these issues through manipulative experiments in a landscape representative of inland National Forests in the West. A 25,000-acre (10 125-ha) area was surrounded with game-proof fencing to support studies on elk, mule deer, and cattle (SOS Taurus). A newly developed telemetry system, using loran-C (long range navigation-C) signals, tracks distribution of the three species in relation to common land management activities and habitat variables. Four primary research projects are underway: animal-unit equivalencies, intensive timber management, effects of roads and traffic, and breeding efficiency of bull elk. Activities at Starkey include trapping, feeding, and handling of deer and elk, radio-telemetry data collection, road and traffic monitoring, hunting, timber harvest, cattle grazing, and vegetation monitoring. An intensive technology transfer program is also an integral part of the Starkey Project. The physical site, including handling facilities and telemetry-related structures, and chronology of events related to the Starkey Project are described. A bibliography of project publications also is included.Keywords: Cattle, deer, elk, forest management, ungulates, Blue Mountains, Oregon, radio telemetry, habitat, Starkey Project, technology transfer, wildlife research. IntroductionLand-use planning for National Forests (NFs) in the 1980s illustrated the growing conflict over public lands management. In land and resource management plans (Forest plans) for the NFs of the Blue Mountains in Washington and Oregon, interactions of livestock with wildlife, especially deer' and elk, were identified as a major concern, as was the relation of wildlife to timber production. Constraints on timber harvest and road construction were incorporated in several Forest plans to meet objectives for deer and elk populations and habitats. These constraints may result in restricted timber harvest (Riggs and others 1993) and thus lower revenues for NFs, local governments, and timber companies, as well as road closures that potentially reduce opportunities for recreation and are costly to establish and maintain. During the 1980s models for predicting habitat effectiveness for deer and elk were being developed and implemented that promoted closing roads or maintaining certain cover:forage ratios for wildlife (Lyon 1983, Thomas and others 1979, Wisdom and others 1986.National Forests support, during some part of the year, more than 90 percent of the e...

In the 1990s the federal forests in the Pacific Northwest underwent the largest shift in management focus since their creation, from providing a sustained yield of timber to conserving biodiversity, with an emphasis on endangered species. Triggered by a legal challenge to the federal protection strategy for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), this shift was facilitated by a sequence of science assessments that culminated in the development of the Northwest Forest Plan. The plan, adopted in 1994, called for an extensive system of late-successional and riparian reserves along with some timber harvest on the intervening lands under a set of controls and safeguards. It has proven more successful in stopping actions harmful to conservation of old-growth forests and aquatic systems than in achieving restoration goals and economic and social goals. We make three suggestions that will allow the plan to achieve its goals: (1) recognize that the Northwest Forest Plan has evolved into an integrative conservation strategy, (2) conserve old-growth trees and forests wherever they occur and (3) manage federal forests as dynamic ecosystems.

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: We studied greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in northcentral Montana, USA, to examine the relationship between nest success and habitat conditions, environmental variables, and female sage‐grouse characteristics. During 2001‐2003, we radiomarked 243 female greater sage‐grouse, monitored 287 nests, and measured 426 vegetation plots at 4 sites in a 3,200‐km2 landscape. Nest survival varied with year, grass canopy cover, daily precipitation with a 1‐day lag effect, and nesting attempt. In all years, daily survival rate increased on the day of a rain event and decreased the next day. There was temporal variation in nest success both within and among years: success of early (first 28 d of nesting season) nests ranged from 0.238 (SE = 0.080) in 2001 to 0.316 (SE = 0.055) in 2003, whereas survival of late (last 28 d of nesting season) nests ranged from 0.276 (SE = 0.090) in 2001 to 0.418 (SE = 0.055) in 2003. Renests experienced higher survival than first nests. Grass cover was the only important model term that could be managed, but direction and magnitude of the grass effect varied. Site, shrub and forb canopy cover, and Robel pole reading were less useful predictors of nest success; however, temporal and spatial variation in these habitat covariates was low during our study. We note a marked difference between both values and interpretations of apparent nest success, which have been used almost exclusively in the past, and maximum‐likelihood estimates used in our study. Annual apparent nest success (0.46) was, on average, 53% higher than maximum‐likelihood estimates that incorporate individual, environmental, and habitat covariates. The difference between estimates was variable (range = +8% to +91%). Management of habitats for nesting sage‐grouse should focus on increasing grass cover to increase survival of first nests and contribute to favorable conditions for renesting, which should be less likely if survival of first nests increases.