1997-06-13_REPORT - M1981302 ‎(15)‎

• Permit No: M1981302
• IBM Index Class Name: Report
• Doc Date: 6/13/1997
• Doc Name: EXHIBIT A 11 STATUS OF MEADOW JUMPING MOUSE FINAL REPORT
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

mammals on Boulder County's Rabbit Mountain Open Space in the autumns of three
years (1984-1986). No meadow jumping mice were captured, although it should be
noted that studies did not always include Dowe Flats, so potential habitat for Z.
hudsonius was not sampled consistently.
METHODS
General.—Field work was conducted according to a protocol developed in collaboration
with several other individuals and research groups responsible for documenting the
status of the meadow jumping mouse in Colorado during the 1995 field season. A copy
of the protocol was appended (as Appendix 1) to our preliminary report (Armstrong,
1995). There were minor additions to field procedures as the season progressed.
Specifically, on 6 April field procedures were supplemented with a brochure concerning
Hantavirus from the Centers for Disease Control, U. S. Department of Health and
Human Services (CDC, 1993). Rubber gloves and respirators were added to the field
supplies, as was disinfectant for cleaning gloves. On 12 September the field protocol
was revised again to accommodate genetic studies by Professor Bruce A. Wunder and
colleagues at Colorado State University. A single toe was removed from any available
specimen, whether a trap-casualty or an animal captured and released. The toe was
placed immediately in 70% ethanol, placed in a conventional freezer, and held for
transfer to Wunder.
Location and Layout of Transects.—At each weekly study site, six double transects.(2 x
25 = 50 traps each) were established and run for 4 nights. Thus, each week 300 traps
were set for a total of 1200 trap-nights). On each of the six double transacts, traps were
arranged in two parallel lines of 25 stations, one trap per station. Trap stations were 5
m apart; the parallel transacts were 10 m apart. (Minimally, such an array traps an area
of 0.25 ha, which is within the reported limits of the home range of Z hudsonius—see
Quimby, 1951). During the trapping session, ends of the transacts were marked with 10
x 10 cm polyethylene flags on wire stakes (in herbaceous vegetation) or with surveyors'
tape tied to branches (in woody vegetation). In areas with moderate to heavy visitor
traffic, transects were marked conspicuously with one or two explanatory signs,
mounted on PVC poles supported by 1-foot rebar stakes. All signage and marking
materials were removed when traps were picked up at the end of a given week's field
work.
Transects were established at least 50 m apart to minimize or preclude migration
between them. Actual orientation of transacts depended upon local topography,
drainage, etc. Transects were placed so as to include roughly one-half"typical" habitat
of meadow jumping mice and roughly one-half habitat presumed to be unsuitable for
the target species. Transects were designated (from a convenient and arbitrary
vantage point) as LEFT or RIGHT. Stations along each transact were numbered 1
through 25. Comer points (L-1, R-1, L-25, R-25) were so indicated on marker flags.
Small mammals captured could thus be noted on field data sheets by station number
(L-6, R-23, etc.). Data on habitat variables also were taken with reference to these
stations, with the trap designated as the center point.
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