Migration Stopovers of Elk in the West Goose Lake Herd in California

The winter range of the West Goose Lake Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni) sub-herd is located north of Alturas and west of Highway 395 within the Devil’s Garden Ranger District of the Modoc National Forest. This area is characterized by juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) woodlands, and sagebrush flats with some stands of lodgepole (Pinus contorta) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) throughout flat, rocky terrain. From this area, a portion of the herd migrates approximately 50 miles north into Oregon’s Fremont National Forest, habitat that primarily consists of lodgepole and ponderosa pine forests. Minimal barriers exist along this migration route since the corridor primarily occurs on land managed by the US Forest Service. Additionally, although the core migration route does cross Highway 140, little to no impacts are known to exist from this crossing. These data provide the location of {migration stopovers for elk in the West Goose Lake population in California and Oregon. They were developed from 25 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 12 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 4-8 hours.