Study of mammals in Jemez gets funding

Park Service wants to learn how animals react to wildfires, reforestation

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service announced this week that it plans to award a $100,000 grant to assess mammal response to wildfires and forest restoration in the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico.

“We are conducting a project to assess the responses of mule deer, elk, and black bears to large-scale forest restoration treatments and recent wildfires on lands managed by the Valles Caldera National Preserve and Santa Fe National Forest in the Jemez Mountains,” officials said in a statement.

“This proposal is part of a longterm assessment of the responses of large mammals to forest restoration treatments that started in 2012 with the capture and placement of GPS collars on mule deer, elk, and black bears; the project will continue through at least 2019 pending continued funding availability,” the service said.

Park Service objectives include assessing changes in forage abundance and determining habitat selection and space use of mule deer, elk, and black bears in response to restoration treatments and wildfires.

This money was being made available for participation from public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, the service said in a news release. The grant number is P17AS00084 (CFDA 15.945), with an application closing by the end of business this Friday.

For more information, contact Kelly Adams, Kelly_Adams@ nps.gov.