110697

To monitor the response of vegetation, soil and wildlife to habitat treatment, we propose to conduct a number of sampling activities within the Muncho Lake Park. Vegetation plots will be visually assessed to determine species composition and cover, and samples of vegetation will be clipped, dried and sent to labs for analysis of nutritional and mineral properties. Soil samples will also be collected to determine mineral composition pre- and post-fire. Wildlife transects will be established and measured; quantifying wildlife use observed along transect lines. Trail and wide-angled, timelapse cameras will be temporarily installed to measure wildlife use of sampling sites. Fecal and urine samples from sheep and elk (and potentially mountain goat, deer, or caribou, when encountered) will be collected from the ground/snow, sent to a lab, and analyzed for fecal nitrogen, macro- and micro-minerals, hormones, and parasites, and metabarcoding will be completed.