Maine Appalachian Trail Rare Mammal Inventory from 2006-2008

Yates, David; Folsom, Sara; Evers, David

A primary objective of the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory & Monitoring (I&M) program is to document 90% of the vertebrates and vascular plants within a park’s boundaries using existing verifiable data (e.g., voucher specimens) and field investigations. While detailed biological inventories have been carried out in several National Parks and National Forests associated with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (A.T.) corridor, relatively few inventories have been conducted on A.T. lands outside these areas. Because 1,045 of the 2,100 A.T. miles (~50%) are outside National Parks or National Forests, inventories such as the one conducted in Maine that targets lands administered directly by the Appalachian Trail Park Office holds are necessary. We conducted an inventory that focused on expanding knowledge of at-risk small mammal species identified during prior natural heritage inventory work. The areas of concern were those parts of the A.T. corridor in Maine that includes the western mountains and central highland regions. The primary objective of the inventory was to determine whether each target species was present along the designated section of the A.T. We attempted to sample and identify the presence of as many species as possible with the goal of sampling those mammal species considered rare and high priority by state and federal entities. The hope is that this information will be used to develop monitoring and management strategies as well as contribute to the development of a long-term monitoring program for rare species along the A.T. in Maine. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MEDIF&W) has on-going inventories for the Canada lynx (Lynx Canadensis) in Maine and has developed specific snow-tracking protocols for this species. We followed their protocol to determine the presence of Canada lynx along the A.T. corridor. Surveys began 24 hours after a snow event, the period considered to provide the best conditions for winter tracking. Nine townships along the A.T. were surveyed for lynx in the winter months from January through March in 2007 and 2008. There was a total of x eight sets of lynx tracks observed in three townships including: Elliotsville Township, T2R10, and T7R9NWP. Several other mammal species were observed during tracking. We recorded 27 individual pine marten (Martes martes), 10 fisher (Martes penannti), and four river otter (Lontra canadensis). We observed pine marten in all but one township (Elliotsville), with fisher and river otter occurring in four out of 10 townships. A less common presence was the bobcat (Lynx rufus), with only one individual observed in the Elliotsville Township.

Maine Appalachian Trail Rare Mammal Inventory from 2006-2008

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