Snowshoe Hare, Red Squirrel and Gray Squirrel Winter Activity in a 120 kV Powerline Right-of-Way and in Adjacent Forests

G. Jean Doucet and David T. Brown

Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) activity was monitored during two winters in a 30 m wide 120 kV powerline right-of-way on Rigaud mountain in Vaudreuil County, Quebec. Track counts in the snow indicated that hares were significantly more active in the adjacent forest than in the right-of-way itself. During the first winter of the study, there was no vegetation emerging from the snow and there were no complete crossings of the right-of-way by hares. All observed hare trails entering the right-of-way returned to the side they came from without crossing. During the second winter, the vegetation in the right-of-way was thicker and hares began crossing the right-of-way. By the end of January of the second winter, no hare trails were recorded in either the forest on one side of the right-of-way or in the right-of-way itself. Hares continued to create trails on the other side of the right-of-way until early February when hare activity ceased throughout the general area. These observations could be the results of indirect factors such as disease or predation being more intense on one side of the right-of-way or being impeded in moving from one side to the other. Red squirrels and gray squirrels crossed the right-of-way throughout the 1981-82 winter but the activity was significantly higher in the adjacent forest than in the right-of-way. These results underline the need for studies on habitat fragmentation and small mammals related to utility rights-of-way.

Keywords: Habitat fragmentation, right-of-way, snowshoe hare, squirrels, 120 kV