Rangeland Ecology & Management

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USING REMOTE-SENSING CAMERAS (RSC) AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) TO PREVENT LIVESTOCK-CARNIVORE CONFLICT
Author
Domingo, Korinna
Lakeland, Diana
Peterson, Denise M.
Yovovich, Veronica
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

Advances in technology have provided new research tools for monitoring wildlife, but there is often a lag between when these tools are used and when they are applied to wildlife management. Here, we borrow newly common tools from the research world and suggest how they could be applied towards livestock-carnivore conflict mitigation. Remote-sensing cameras (RSC) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become powerful tools for monitoring wildlife habitat use, changes in land cover, and wildlife movements. As RSC have become less expensive and more widely available, and new open-source GIS software has become accessible, these two tools are now within reach of the general public. We suggest a new way to combine RSC and GIS to create a proactive method for livestock-carnivore conflict prevention. We have sample data from RSC deployed in the Verdugo Mountains of Southern California and the Cosumnes River Preserve in the Central Valley to demonstrate how these methods could be used to prevent livestock-carnivore interactions. By mapping site-specific carnivore habitat use, livestock operators can project relative risk on their own property. With this specially tailored tool, they can plan grazing activities to avoid high-activity, and therefore high-risk, areas within their own grazing allotments. These promising tools, applied in a new way, could help minimize conflict on rangelands, protecting livestock, human livelihoods, and carnivores alike.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Reno, NV