If you build it, will they come? Using resource selection and satellite imagery to develop wildlife habitat reclamation strategies

Background/Question/Methods

Accelerating resource development is increasing the need for sound reclamation strategies to sustain wildlife communities. However, identifying the types of conditions that will support wildlife is challenging in landscapes enduring rapid and novel change. We inferred the effects of historic and future reclamation on habitat selection by four wildlife species in a region of British Columbia.  Ecosystems within the region have experienced rapid and expansive change since the advent of open-pit mining in the 1960s. Since that time, mining and associated reclamation activities have continuously altered topography, soil structure, and vegetation communities throughout portions of the valley.

We combine a decade of regional wildlife, vegetation and mining data to quantify the role of mining activity and reclamation on resource selection by two forest obligates (snowshoe hare [Lepus americanus] and Canada lynx [Lynx canadensis]), and two large herbivores (bighorn sheep [Ovis canadensis] and elk [Cervus elaphus]). We fit resource selection models for each species using digital elevation models and ground-verified satellite imagery data. The resulting models were used to (1) infer the role of mining activity and current reclamation practices on wildlife distributions, and (2) project and recommend future reclamation strategies.

 Results/Conclusions

Resource selection models indicate that current mine practices increase the amount bighorn sheep and elk habitat whilst reducing the amount of snowshoe hare and lynx habitat. Elk and sheep populations have largely benefitted because the reclaimed mines provide favorable conditions during the growing and hunting seasons, but a lack of diverse forages may be detrimental during severe winters. Strategies that increase the availability of shrub forages on the reclaimed landscape will benefit elk and sheep populations. Strategies that increase the amount of gentle slope with a shrub understory and moderate conifer tree cover will improve resource conditions for snowshoe hare and lynx.

Our results demonstrate the value of using resource selection models to identify the types of conditions that will benefit diverse wildlife species when landscapes are undergoing rapid change, and using ground-verified satellite imagery to facilitate rigorous analyses in rapidly changing landscapes. Combining our results with mechanistic data (e.g., population demographics, diet, nutrition and predation risk) and information on environmental processes (e.g., hydrology, soil development and plant growth) will provide additional insight into reclamation and its effects on wildlife populations.