Bald Eagle Survey 



Locations of eagles observed were recorded on maps, and habitat 

 preferences were recorded on standard data sheets. Observations made 

 during fall, 1978, were made incidental to the fisheries study. Winter 

 observations were made during transect runs along the railroad tracks 

 and incidental to travel through the area. The Kootenai river was 

 censused for bald eagles as part of the National Wildlife Federation's 

 nationwide Bald Eagle survey during the report period. Information 

 gathered by Meyer (1979) during regular ground and aerial surveys of the 

 Kootenai River and by Craighead and Craighead's (1979) LAURD study 

 provided additional information on Bald Eagle use of the study area. 



Bird Censuses 



Bird populations of a portion of the study area (Figure 5) were 

 censused in winter (January 20 - March 2, 1978) and during the breeding 

 season (May 7 - June 30, 1978) using standard methods (Hall 1964; 

 Van Velzen 1972; Kolb 1965). The schedule of the breeding bird census 

 is given in Appendix D. Monthly occurrence, location, and habitat type 

 were noted for each bird species. The upland portions of the census 

 area were defined on the basis of NLI's original plan for construction 

 of the powerhouse between the damsite and the footbridge; since this 

 area would not be affected by NLI's revised proposal, no censuses were 

 made in 1979. 



Small Mammal Trapping 



Small mammal populations were sampled in September of 1978, using a 

 combination of snap and pitfall traps. September was chosen as the 

 trapping period in an effort to sample populations near the peak of 

 their annual cycle. The locations of all trapping sites and their code 

 numbers are shown in Figure 5. Four snap trap lines, each consisting of 

 twenty-five stations (2 traps/station, for a total of fifty traps per 

 line) located at fifteen m (45 ft) intervals, were operated for three 

 consecutive nights (September 3-5, 1978). Two of these trap lines 

 (Nos. 1 and 2) were set in typical riparian grassland habitats in an 

 area likely to be inundated should the project be implemented. The two 

 remaining lines (Nos. 3 and 4) were set in typical nonriparian Douglas 

 fir-western red cedar coniferous forest habitats or forest edge habitats 

 adjacent to the railroad right-of-way. Total trapping effort for these 

 lines was 600 trap-nights (200 traps x 3 nights). In addition to snap 

 trap lines, four additional lines, each consisting of four sunken-can 

 ("pitfall") traps at 15 m (45 ft) intervals, were run during the same 

 period. These lines sampled typical forest-edge shrub (No. 5), stream- 

 side within Douglas fir-western red cedar forest (No. 6), shrubby Douglas 

 fir-dominated forest (No. 7), and scree habitats (No. 8). All traps were 

 removed at the end of the trapping period. Animals captured were weighed, 

 measured, sexed, and identified to species. Standard study skins and 



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