A Starting Point: An Ecosystem of Reference for Habitat Restoration of the Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus brunneus brunneus

Abstract The Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel (NIDGS, Urocitellus brunneus brunneus) is threatened by habitat loss due to fire exclusion in west-central Idaho. Increases in Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) density and extent have closed historically open meadows. Management practices for NIDGS recovery include thinning and burning to reduce tree encroachment. Baseline habitat data help create restoration goals and refine present management plans, but no pristine reference sites exist for the NIDGS, due to 100 y of land use and a lack of historical records. Therefore, we provided the first quantitative habitat descriptions of NIDGS habitat at 7 currently occupied sites that may be useful as an ecosystem of reference. We chose habitat attributes that are likely important to NIDGS, as well as attributes that are potentially altered by restoration treatments, which included overstory canopy cover, tree density, ground cover, litter depth, and soil texture. Habitat attributes were described with Bayesian 95% cre...