SPECIES VALUE 



Threatened and Endangered Species 



The presence (rating of 1) or absence (rating of 0) 

 of potential or existing habitat for the threatened or 

 endangered mountain timber wolf, whooping crane, 

 peregrine falcon, and mountain caribou was determined. 

 A two-level rating system of species' use was utilized 

 for the bald eagle and grizzly bear. A rating of 2 for 

 the bald eagle represented critical wintering (high 

 densities), key migrating, and existing and potential 

 nesting areas. A rating of 1 represented other areas 

 where relatively low densities of bald eagles either 

 wintered or migrated. Because of their national sig- 

 nificance, an additional 20 points were awarded if a 

 rating of 2 was determined for the bald eagle. For the 

 grizzly bear, a rating of 2 represented management 

 areas 1 and 2 as established by the respective National 

 Forests for the Yellowstone and Northern Continental 

 Divide ecosystems. For the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem, the 

 area delineated in the MDFWP Grizzly Bear EIS was used 

 to determine a 2 rating (Dood et al. 1986). A rating 

 of 1 represented other management situations or fringe 

 areas felt to be important for grizzly bear recovery. 

 Final points for each species was determined by multi- 

 plying the rating by 15. A total for all threatened 

 and endangered species was then calculated. 



Game and Furbearer Species 



Seasonal use, importance value, and habitat suita- 

 bility were collected for game and furbearer species. 

 Because the importance value also evaluated seasonal 

 use, the seasonal use evaluation was dropped as a 

 standard. Ratings of 1-3 were given for each mapped 

 game species present. A rating of 3 indicated the unit 

 supported large populations and/or contained highly 

 critical habitat (e.g. winter range) for a significant 

 population of animals. A rating of 2 indicated a unit 

 contained habitats of moderate importance to the 

 species and/or supported moderate populations of ani- 

 mals. A rating of 1 indicated a unit had some value to 

 the species on a seasonal basis and/or it supported low 

 or occasional populations of the species. 



For furbearer species and unmapped game species, 

 the ratings were defined by habitat suitability. A 

 rating of 3 indicated a unit had excellent habitat 

 quality and was able to support a high density relative 

 to other habitats. A rating of 2 indicated a unit 



