Small Mammals of the Muskwa-Kechika
Management Area
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (MKMA) in northern British Columbia was formally established in 1998 with the passing of the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area Act. Situated in the Cassiar Mountains and northern Rocky Mountains, the MKMA is an immense and diverse region (Fig. 1). The initial boundaries established in 1998 encompassed 4.4 million hectares. An additional 1.9 hectares from the Mackenzie Land and Resource Management Plan Area were added to the MKMA in November 20001. The MKMA now covers 6.3 million hectares including 1.65 million hectares of new and existing protected areas buffered by about 4.65 million hectares of special management area.

This large and ecologically diverse wilderness area supports large wildlife populations and it is a significant area for hunting, trapping, and outdoor recreation. In addition, the area has enormous potential for resource development. Management of the MKMA is intended to be an innovative approach that will balance habitat and wildlife protection with resource development. Essential to managing the MKMA, is basic inventory data on the distribution and habitat requirements of various wildlife species. Considerable inventory data are available for the large mammals (ungulates, large carnivores) of the MKMA. Populations estimates and detailed information on the distribution and seasonal movements within the MKMA exist for many species of these large mammals. In contrast, the small mammal fauna (insectivores, bats, lagomorphs, and rodents) of the MKMA is poorly documented.

Existing data on small mammals of the MKMA consist mostly of historical collections and observations of small mammals made by various museums, a few published scientific papers summarizing museum field surveys, and unpublished field notes housed in various museums. Few modern small mammal inventories have been done in the MKMA or adjacent northern areas. In 1999, a seed proposal, Small Mammals of the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area, was submitted to the Muskwa-Kechika Trust Fund and received funding in April 2000. The objectives were: 1) develop a database that contains all existing small mammal records from the MKMA based on historical museum collections and recent inventories. 2) produce a report containing distribution maps, an analysis of small mammal inventory coverage in the MKMA, recommendations for future inventories, and a bibliography of published and unpublished literature on small mammals in the MKMA. The Small Mammals of the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area was intended as a pilot project that could be used as a starting point to focus future inventory work.