Delegated Aerial Ungulate Surveys 2008/2009 Survey Season
Author(s)
Nathan Webb and Robert Anderson
Summary
Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) uses levies on hunting and fishing licenses to collect and analyze population inventory data that can be used by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (ASRD) in setting hunting and fishing seasons and regulations. Aerial ungulate surveys (AUS) are the primary method used to determine population status and trends for ungulates in Alberta, and therefore are an integral component for setting hunting guidelines. Beginning in 2007, ACA became a very active partner in the AUS program, and now works collaboratively with ARSD to plan and conduct surveys and to summarize survey data. ASRD continues to set provincial priorities for survey
locations and rotations, and uses these data in the management of ungulate populations. A portion of the overall survey plan is delegated to ACA for delivery (DAUS) in collaboration with ASRD. During the 2008/09 fiscal year, ACA funded and delivered 29 AUS across Alberta. These surveys included summer range trend surveys for pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) and mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), winter range trend surveys for bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), bison (Bison bison) and elk (Cervus elaphus), random stratified block surveys for moose (Alces alces),
white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and recruitment surveys for caribou (Rangifer tarandus). This report summarizes the methods used to conduct these surveys and the survey results.