10--Elk Exclosure for Dworshak Dam

1. INTENT The following specifications pertain to the purchase and installation of fencing designed to protect a select area of habitat from ungulate herbivory in the Grandad Elk Mitigation Area around Dworshak Reservoir in Clearwater County, Idaho. The fence shall be designed to exclude elk from the area for a minimum of five years, to allow the forage within the exclosure to mature, and then to be relocatable to other sites. 2. BACKGROUND Dworshak Dam and Reservoir (Dworshak Project) has several congressionally authorized purposes, one of which is to develop and sustain fish and wildlife habitat. In addition, it has a federal mandate to provide elk habitat (Design Memorandum 15 quote mark The Plan for Development of Rocky Mountain Elk Habitat quote mark ). The implementation of this plan resulted in the acquisition and development of the Grandad Elk Mitigation Area, a 5,000 acre block of land designed to meet specific winter elk habitat objectives. Approximately 3,000 acres of the 5,000-acre Grandad Elk Mitigation Area (see the attached area maps) was clear-cut and burned in the 1970s to promote the production of winter browse species for elk. Although the efforts in the '70s were generally successful, today some of the clear-cut and burn units have very little elk winter forage and are thought to have inadequate seed source of these plants in the ground. Both of these conditions are primarily the result of elk herbivory. Although the '70s burns provided ample winter forage early on, years of continued elk herbivory have prevented winter forage from maturing, and harsh winters have killed many of the existing plants. Without maturing, these plants are kept from producing seed. The exclosure will allow stunted plants to mature and produce seed. After several years, the fencing will be removed by the Government. The plants will have provided a new seed source to the landscape, and the mature, more vigorous plants will also be able to provide food for the elk without compromising plant survival. 3. SCOPE The Contractor shall be required to conduct site preparation and deliver and install 0.77 (based on three dimensional resource grade GPS measurement) of fencing, designed to exclude ungulates in moderately steep vegetated terrain. Coordination of the installation schedule shall be done with the Project Point of Contact (POC).