1994-1996 Dall Sheep Exclosures Dataset: Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

Little documentation exists for habitat use by Dall’s sheep, or the role sheep play in the disturbance and/or maintenance of sensitive vegetation associations within Yukon-Charley Rivers NP. To expand the knowledge base for Dall’s sheep habitat attributes, resource management personnel from Yukon-Charley Rivers NP installed 5 grazing exclosures at 4 locations within the upper Charley River basin to document sheep impacts on arctic steppe (alpine tundra) plant communities. The exclosures were installed in 1994 and exclosure(s) were sampled in 1994, 1995, and 1996. Exclosure and control plots were sampled at each site using ocular estimation of percent cover for individual plant species. The purpose of this report was to compile existing data, methodology, and information about these grazing exclosures and make recommendations for future monitoring priorities and schedules. Monitoring of plots at grazing exclosures should continue, but annual visits are not required. Monitoring of the Dewey Bluff exclosure is of low priority due to minimal use by Dall’s sheep.
Organization: Department of the Interior
Last updated: 2025-09-14T19:35:46.652636
Tags: alaska, exclosure, ovis-dalli, sheep, vegetation