roosting by pileated woodpeckers and other 

 cavity-nesting species. The largest cohort of 

 live western larch is currently about 21" dbh. 

 These trees appear to be generally healthy and 

 vigorous with little sign of heartrot; as such, 

 they present few opportunihes for nesting at 

 the present time. 



LOONS 



The common loon spends most of its time on 

 or near the water and is poorly adapted for 

 flying. Loons prefer to place their nests in the 

 marshy areas of lakes where they are sheltered 

 from wind and wave action. In Montana, 

 loons typically: 



arrive at the breeding grounds in mid to 



late April; 



build nests and incubate eggs through 



May; and 



hatch chicks the first 2 weeks of June. 



Loon chicks are highly dependent on their 

 parents for food, warmth, and protection from 

 predators. Loon chicks fledge in early Septem- 

 ber. 



In the Beaver Lake area, nesting has been 

 documented on Boyle and Beaver lakes. 

 Loons have also been observed on Murray and 

 Little Beaver lakes, though nesting has not 

 been documented. Murray Lake is classified 

 as a type 'C lake in the Montana Common 

 Loon Management Plan (Skaar 1989). Type 'C 

 lakes are lakes that meet all the habitat re- 

 quirements for loons, but nesting has not been 

 documented (Skaar 1989). Murray Lake was 

 surveyed in 1998 by the DNRC biologist for its 

 potential to support nesting loons. The most 

 likely area on Murray Lake to support nesting 

 loons is at the southern end of the lake where 

 there is more vegetation for constructing nests 

 and higher security from campers. It is also 

 suspected that loons may be unsuccessfully 

 attempting to nest on Little Beaver Lake 

 (Dolan 1994). 



People can affect loons in many different 

 ways. In the Beaver Lake Project area, poten- 

 tial sources of impacts to loons include: 



unintentional disturbances near nests or 



broods, 



intentional harrassment, 



an increase in predation by crows and 



ravens attracted by garbage, 



the introduction of exotic fish species, 



changes in the pattern of wave action of 



water from speedboats, and 



strangling in plastic 6-pack holders and 



fishing line. 



Of these, human disturbance is probably the 

 most common impact. Although people 

 disturbing loons usually intend no harm, 

 disturbance can result in the adult loons 

 leaving their nests, exposing the eggs to 

 predation, chilling, and/or overheating. If 

 both adults are off the nest for more than an 

 hour, they often abandon the nest. Human 

 disturbance can also cause adults with chicks 

 to move frequently, whereas normally they 

 spend a lot of time floating quietly or feeding. 

 Moving around greatly increases the energy 

 expenditure of the chicks at the same time that 

 they are receiving less food; thus, continual 

 disturbance can lead to reduced chick sur- 

 vival. Most of the sources of loon mortality in 

 Forest Service Region 1 are related to human 

 activity (Dolan 1994). 



SENSITIVE SPECIES - NOT 

 ASSESSED IN DETAIL 



The Northwestern Land Office lists the follow- 

 ing species as sensitive, but neither they nor 

 their habitats occur in the Beaver Lakes Project 

 area, or their habitat is not sufficient in size or 

 connectivity with other habitat to contribute to 

 the support of individuals; they are excluded 

 from further analyses. A brief rationale ex- 

 plains the basis for not considering these 

 species further in this document. 



FISHER (MARTES PENNANTI) 



The fisher is closely associated with forested 

 habitats. In the western United States, it is 

 generally associated with closed-canopy 



ID-lSr 



Stillwater State Forest • Beaver Lake Timber Sale Project 



