The surveys and monitoring conducted at Mt. Haggin Wildlife Management Area i n 2000 indicate that Geyer willow is in decline. During the field surveys. no individu- als exposed to browsing were found to have uninterrupted- growth- or released-type architectures. During monitoring, we sampled the most vigorous plants. The LD Index data indicate that current-year-growth is browsed back to the level of mechanical protection. The preponderance of nega- tive LD Index values indicates that major dieback has a1- ready occurred. The site-wide average NAGRL3 values are well below the threshold value of 25 cmlyear. The quant i ty of ava i l abl e browse will d i m i n i s h as dieback progresses. If the moose popuIation remains ap- proximately constant, increased pressure will be placed on the remaining browse plants. All lines of evidence indicate that, if present trends continue, the wiIlow community will likely be converted to a meadow. To reduce browsing pres- sure, the moose harvest quota was increased by 50% for the 2000 hunting season. During the winter of 200012001, snow depth was markedly less compared to typical years. The reduced snow pack allowed moose to disperse over a broader area compared to years in which snow is uniformly deeper. These factors are expected to influence willow growth. To document that response, we will conduct sur- veys and monitoring on an annual basis." This link is an actual scanned copy of the entire Rangelands issue.
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