Idaho and Nevada Elk Bruneau-Diamond A Desert Migration Routes

The Bruneau elk herd comprises part of an Idaho–Nevada metapopulation that primarily uses winter ranges in Idaho and summer ranges in Nevada. Divergent migration patterns separate two subherds comprising the Bruneau-Diamond A Desert herd: the J-P Desert subherd and the Diamond Desert subherd. Although the two subherds occupy independent summer ranges, they converge on common wintering grounds that are separated by the Bruneau River canyon near the confluence of the Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers. The J-P Desert elk depart mountainous regions in Nevada, Idaho, and the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada, to winter on desert plateaus in Idaho (fig. 36). The Diamond Desert elk primarily summer in the headwaters of the Bruneau River, which includes the western extent of the Jarbidge Mountains, the Copper Mountains, and the Ichabod Range, where the highest elevation is Copper Mountain at 9,912 ft (3,021 m). Generally, wintering males prefer south-facing slopes in proximity to the summer range; however, large female and calf groups migrate across the Idaho–Nevada border onto Diamond A Desert along the Bruneau River and as far to the north as the confluence with the Jarbidge River, 22 mi (35 km) into Idaho. The Diamond A Desert is a patchwork of expansive intact shrublands, including sagebrush and grasslands consisting of various native and nonnative Agropyron spp. (wheatgrass). The J-P Desert elk summer primarily on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada and the Bruneau Range, which includes Merritt Mountain at 8,792 ft (2,680 m). Females and calves prefer to summer outside of Nevada in southern Idaho and the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada. 
The GPS-collared elk in the J-P Desert subherd indicate that they rarely cross into Nevada (T. Allen, Nevada Department of Wildlife, written commun., 2024). The J-P Desert elk migrate north onto and across the J-P Desert, generally along the Sheep Creek Canyon, where large expanses of sagebrush shrublands and wheatgrass grasslands dominate the landscape. Most winters, elk migrate as far to the north as the Blackstone Desert, approximately 40 mi (63 km) into Idaho, and share a winter range with neighboring Idaho elk herds. Summer range vegetation for both elk subherds is consistent with high-elevation Great Basin communities. Lower elevation winter range shrubland and grasslands species merge at higher elevations with mountain brush communities containing antelope bitterbrush, Amelanchier alnifolia (western serviceberry), and Ceanothus velutinus (snowbush), quaking aspen, mountain-mahogany, Abies spp. (fir), and Pinus spp. (pine). Through coordination among Idaho, Nevada, and the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada, the Bruneau-Diamond A elk herd remains a stable population.
These mapping layers show the location of the migration routes for elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Bruneau-Diamond A Desert population in Idaho and Nevada. They were developed from 138 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 35 animals comprising GPS locations collected every ~ 12.5 hours.

Tags: animal-behavior, biota, migration-organisms, migratory-species, nevada, united-states, usgs-6791756bd34ea6a4002bfaa7, wells
Organization: Department of the Interior