Study area.
Our study was conducted in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon
centered at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range between 2016 and
2019 (Figure 2). The major habitat types in the study area include
grasslands, riparian areas, open forest dominated by ponderosa pine
(Pinus ponderosa ), and closed forest consisting of a mixture of
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii ), grand fir (Abies
grandis ), larch (Larix occidentalis ), ponderosa pine and
lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ). Riparian areas sustain willows
(Salix spp.), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), Rocky Mountain
maple (Acer glabrum ), and other shrub species in low quantities.
Starkey Experimental Forest and Range and adjacent public lands support
an assemblage of native and domestic large herbivores including mule
deer, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus ), elk, and
seasonally grazed domestic cattle (Bos taurus; Rowland et
al. 1997). Carnivore species include black bears, coyotes, cougars, and
bobcats. Gray wolves (Canis lupus ) are colonizing the area but
currently occur only occasionally and unpredictably in the study area.
We used global positioning system (GPS) telemetry data from 9 cougars
(representing 11 animal years), 17 coyotes (21 animal years), 11 black
bears (18 animal years), 6 bobcats (7 animal years), 25 adult female
mule deer (45 animal years), and 59 adult female elk (89 animal years).
GPS positions were recorded every 2 or 3 hours for carnivores, every 30
minutes for elk, and every 60 or 90 minutes for deer. Details on capture
and handling of carnivores, elk, and mule deer can be found in Ruprechtet al. (2021a), Wisdom et al. (1993) and Jackson et
al. (2021), respectively. All animal capture and handling adhered to
protocols approved by the USDA Forest Service, Starkey Experimental
Forest Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC No. 92-F-0004;
protocol #STKY-16-01) and followed the guidelines of the American
Society of Mammalogists for the use of wild mammals in research (Sikes
2016).