1997-06-13_REPORT - M1981302 (14)

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PRELEVIINARY STATUS SURVEY PREBLE'S MEADOW JUMPING MOUSE BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO Challenge Cost-Share Proposal—Project Description 14 September 1994 INTRODUCTION Preble's meadow jumping mouse, Zapus hudsonius preblei, is currently classified as a Category 2 taxon by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). A petition to list the subspecies as threatened or endangered was received by the USFWS in August 1994. Very little is known about this taxon, its distribution, its habitat requirements, or its status (other than its apparent rarity). The City of Boulder Open Space Department and Boulder County Parks and Open Space propose a cooperative investigation of the distribution and habitat preferences of Preble's meadow jumping mouse in Boulder County. Information obtained from this project will assist the USFWS in responding to the petition. These efforts will be coordinated with related efforts conducted by EG & G at Rocky Flats (Jefferson County), the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (for selected Front Range areas), and any additional efforts conducted or funded by the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) or the USFWS. OBJECTIVES The objectives of the proposed project are to 1) determine the current location of Preble's meadow jumping mouse populations on City of Boulder Open Space and Boulder County Open Space property (50,000+ acres in Boulder County), 2) develop a qualitative habitat description for documented occurrences of Preble's meadow jumping mouse on City and County properties using methods accepted by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, 3) provide basic morphological measurements for use in addressing taxonomic questions, 4) describe past and current management strategies for lands where the jumping mouse has been found (either historical locations or new locations documented during the course of the proposed project), and 5) provide relative abundance data by summarizing numbers of captures for each species per trap-night per sampling.location. METHODOLOGY Based on habitat descriptions from literature and other available sources, potential habitat on City of Boulder Open Space and Boulder County Open Space will be identified from recent aerial photos. Animals will be live-trapped in known and potential habitat areas beginning in May and continuing until August. Information on relative age, sex, and basic morphological characteristics (total length, width of head, tail length, hind foot length, and mass) will be collected from each jumping mouse captured. One dorsal and one lateral view color photograph will be taken against a standardized background; film, lens, and distance between lens and ground will also be standardized. Captured animals will then be released.