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

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. This study was initiated before the Mackenzie addition to the MKMA. The entire GIS analysis should be redone including the Mackenzie portion of the MKMA with its associated GIS themes (biogeoclimatic units, Ecosections, and protected areas, and boundary polygon). This will add additional ecosystems to the analysis and presumably capture additional historical small mammal records from the MKMA.
2. Data from registered trap lines and the provincial fur harvest should be included in the report and incorporated into the species accounts for furbearers.
3. Traditional knowledge from aboriginal groups and other individuals familiar with the mammalian fauna of the MKMA such as trappers, hunters, guide outfitters could be incorporated into the report. Most of the traditional knowledge will apply to fur bearers but it may include information on some of the conspicuous diurnal species such as the Hoary Marmot, Arctic Ground Squirrel, and pikas.
4. Although there are few modern small mammal inventories for the MKMA and adjacent areas, our attempt to acquire copies of available reports and mammal locations from specific study sites has been frustrating. For example, we have been unable to obtain a copy of the Wilkinson et al. (1995) bat report. Evidently, it is not available in the Fort St. John MELP office, nor is it available in Victoria in the MELP or MOF research libraries. The bat report by Bradbury et al. (1997) has a detailed list of study sites with UTM co-ordinates and habitat classifications but curiously the bat species taken at each site is not given. The only site data given in the report are for the Northern Long-eared Myotis. Other studies such as the Del Rio small mammal study evidently do not have any associated reports. We recommend that the results (reports, site data, RIC data sheets etc.) of all small mammal inventories from the MKMA and relevant areas should be deposited in a central repository (e.g. MELP research library) where it is readily accessible to all researchers.
5. We recommend that future small mammal inventory in the MKMA involve a broad approach that includes: 1) general presence-absence inventories across the MKMA to determine the broad distribution of species in the MKMA; 2) detailed population, habitat and community studies in representative habitats; 3) and taxonomic studies. BC Parks staff, guide outfitters, government biologists can contribute to the general inventories and they should be encouraged to record any observational records of conspicuous small mammals in the MKMA. Their observations should be deposited in central data repository.
6. Our small mammal study could be broadened to include the small carnivores (mustelids, skunks). Some historical museum records exists for these species in the MKMA and these data could be supplemented with fur harvest data and traditional knowledge.