• IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
• PALATABILITY
• NUTRITIONAL VALUE
• COVER VALUE
• VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES
• OTHER USES AND VALUES
• MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:

Grouse whortleberry provides food and cover for many wildlife species. Lodgepole pine, spruce, fir, and mountain hemlock forests with a grouse whortleberry understory provide good summer range for many large mammal species throughout much of the West [6,48,54,62,85,90,128]. Higher-elevation sites in grouse whortleberry communities may be poor wintering areas for large mammals because of heavy snow accumulations and the absence of tall to medium shrubs [29].

The abundance and availability of grouse whortleberry contribute to its overall value, although it is less palatable than many other shrubs. Grouse whortleberry is considered an intermediate elk browse in northwestern Wyoming and is eaten by elk on summer ranges of northern Utah [14,23]. Grouse whortleberry is an important component of mule deer diets in parts of Utah and Colorado [23,27,34,104] and is an important fall moose food throughout the Intermountain West [98]. In parts of Montana grouse whortleberry is the most important shrub in the summer diet of Rocky Mountain goats [,111]. Bears may rely heavily on Vaccinium berries and foliage [85].

Berries of grouse whortleberry are a valuable food source for many birds and small mammals. Chipmunks, red squirrel, gray fox, red fox, and skunks readily feed on grouse whortleberries. Spruce grouse, ptarmigans, ruffed grouse, blue grouse, bluebirds, thrushes, and other birds commonly consume whortleberries [72,83,115,128].

Grouse whortleberry provides only minimal browse for most classes of livestock [72,115]. However, it provides fair to good browse for domestic sheep in the Blue Mountains of Oregon [33].

PALATABILITY:

Grouse whortleberry browse is at least moderately palatable to wild ungulates in many areas [,46]; however, Young and Robinette [143] report that it is of very low palatability to elk in the Selway River drainage of Idaho. Palatability to domestic livestock appears to be poor [72,115]. Palatability of grouse whortleberry browse has been rated as follows [33,36]:

                  CO      MT      OR      UT      WY

Cattle            poor    poor    ----    poor    fair
Domestic sheep    fair    fair    good    fair    fair
Horses            poor    poor    ----    poor    poor
Pronghorn         ----    ----    ----    poor    poor
Elk               ----    fair    ----    good    fair
Mule deer         ----    fair    ----    good    good
White-tailed deer ----    ----    ----    ----    good    
Small mammals     good    good    ----    good    good
Small birds       good    fair    ----    good    good
Upland birds      ----    fair    ----    good    good
Waterfowl         ----    ----    ----    poor    poor
Mountain goats    ----    fair    ----    ----    ----

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Vaccinium foliage is relatively high in carotene and energy content [30]. Protein value of grouse whortleberry browse is rated as fair [36]. Fruit of species within this genus are typically sweet and contain high concentrations of both mono- and disaccharides [121] and are high in vitamin C [105]. Fruit of grouse whortleberry is high in energy value [100].

COVER VALUE:

The cover value of grouse whortleberry is variable. Because of its low growth form, grouse whortleberry provides minimal hiding or thermal cover for large mammals. Cover value may be higher for small birds and mammals. In northern Utah, subalpine fir/grouse whortleberry communities provide resting sites for elk [86]. In eastern Idaho and western Wyoming, lodgepole pine stands with abundant grouse whortleberry serve as resting sites for deer, elk, moose, and grizzly bear [16,117]. Cover value of grouse whortleberry has been rated as follows [36].

                          CO     MT     UT     WY
Small mammals            fair   poor   good   good
Small nongame birds      poor   poor   fair   good
Upland game birds        ----   poor   fair   fair
Waterfowl                ----   ----   poor   poor

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

Grouse whortleberry has been rated as having low value for short-term rehabilitation projects and moderate value for long-term rehabilitation. Its fibrous root system probably prevents soil erosion on some sites [36]. Species within the genus can be propagated from cuttings [26], but propagation of grouse whortleberry from seed is difficult. Seedlings are rare in the field [64,109].

Seeds of grouse whortleberry, collected from ripe berries, germinated on laboratory petri plates within 1 month but were very fragile and vulnerable to desiccation. Efforts to transplant the seeds to pots failed. The authors found no grouse whortleberry seedlings in field sites where the berries were collected. They concluded that the absence of seedlings was related to mortality of seeds or seedlings or to inadequate seed dispersal, rather than lack of seed production or seed viability [109].

OTHER USES AND VALUES:

Fruits of grouse whortleberry are edible, though small and difficult to gather in quantity. Berries may be eaten fresh, cooked, or made into jam and wine. Vaccinium spp. fruits were an important traditional food for many Native American peoples. Leaves were used to make beverages [50,95].

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

                                     Constancy/percent cover         

habitat type                     wildfire   old growth   logged   
                                            (control)

subalpine fir/queencup beadlily  53/5.9     19/16.5      22/1.0    
subalpine fir/menziesia          44/14.0    25/3.0       33/0.5   
subalpine fir/beargrass          63/9.6     38/5.3       no data
subalpine fir/woodrush           81/9.2     80/5.8       no data

Related categories for SPECIES: Vaccinium scoparium | Grouse Whortleberry