Analytical Research - Sightings Database

[hiflier]

Again an area's history should be part of doing Sasquatch research and in taking my own suggestion I will be incorporating this kind of history into an existing database.There was heavy timber harvesting in the Blue Mountains from the late 1970's through the late 1980's which is a time frame close to the two early sightings posted by CMF. Some research led me here: .https://fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev7_015652.pdf and a portion concerning the timeline of the four sightings is this:

 

"1970s

 Between 1972 and 1974, the northern Blue Mountains experienced the largest outbreak of

Douglas-fir tussock moth ever recorded anywhere in North America.

 The Forest Service eventually convinced the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily

suspend their 1972 ban of DDT so it could be used against tussock moth; more than

426,000 acres were sprayed with DDT in a tri-State area in 1974, with only 32,700 of the

sprayed acres located on the Umatilla National Forest.

 In the mid and late 1970s, many salvage timber sales were completed to remove trees

killed or damaged by Douglas-fir tussock moth defoliation. About 137 million board feet of

timber was salvaged from tussock-moth areas on the Pendleton Ranger District alone.

 In the mid 1970s, a very large mountain pine beetle outbreak occurred in lodgepole pine

forests throughout the central and southern portions of the Blue Mountains – more than

375,000 acres of the Umatilla National Forest were affected in 1976.

 In 1972, four management treatments were installed at the High Ridge Barometer Watershed

– large clearcuts, small clearcuts, selective cutting, and an untreated (control) area.

The High Ridge study was initially established in October of 1967 to document weather

conditions for a high-elevation watershed, and to monitor water flow and sediment production

changes associated with timber production practices.

 In the early 1970s, the upper portion of the Tiger Creek (Tiger Canyon) road was developed,

with initial work commencing in July of 1971. This is a major recreational road and

access point to the Umatilla National Forest for residents of Walla Walla, Washington.

 The Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness was created by passage of the Endangered American

Wilderness Act of 1978.

 

1980s

 On January 15, 1980, nearly 2,000 skiers flocked to the opening of the Bluewood Ski Area

located 23 miles south of Dayton, Washington.

 In October of 1980, the Woodland Sno-Park site, located about 2 miles south of the Spout

Springs ski area and adjacent to Oregon Highway 204, was completed and opened. Like

other snow parks, this project was developed cooperatively by a state’s Department of

Transportation, Boise Cascade Corporation, and a local snowmobile club.

 From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, very high levels of timber harvesting occurred on

Blue Mountain national forests. On the Umatilla National Forest, annual harvest levels

reached 222 million board feet in 1973, and 227 million board feet in 1989 (cut volume).

7

 Beginning in 1980 and continuing until 1992, a large outbreak of western spruce budworm

affected the Umatilla National Forest (and the remainder of the Blue Mountains). Several

suppression (spray) projects occurred during this outbreak, when either chemical or biological

control agents were applied from aircraft.

 In 1984, two new Wilderness areas were designated on the Umatilla National Forest:

North Fork John Day Wilderness (located on the North Fork John Day Ranger District),

and the North Fork Umatilla Wilderness (located on the Walla Walla Ranger District).

 In the early 1980s, the Umatilla National Forest installed the Data General computer system.

This “DG system” represented the first agency-wide implementation of standardized

technology throughout all levels and offices of the U.S. Forest Service.

 

1990s

 In 1990, the first comprehensive Land and Resource Management Plan was approved for

the Umatilla National Forest. It replaced a group of so-called “unit plans,” all of which were

prepared and approved in the 1970s, covering smaller portions of the Forest. The 1990

Forest Plan established management direction for a 10-year implementation period (at

most 15 years), but it is still in place today.

 In April 1991, the Blue Mountains Forest Health Report was released. This report described

deteriorating forest health conditions on the Umatilla National Forest (and the remainder

of the Blue Mountains).

 Between 1992 and 1994, several broad-scale reports pertaining to the Umatilla National

Forest were released. The Caraher Report was issued in July 1992. A draft version of the

Everett Report was released in April 1993, with the final report produced in 1994. The

Eastside Forests Scientific Society Panel report was published in August 1994.

 The Eastside Screens were issued in August 1993 in response to a petition and threatened

lawsuit from the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Screens established interim

direction that all timber sale projects are required to meet. Following a lawsuit filed

by Prairie Wood Products, the Eastside Screens were required to meet NEPA requirements

by amending the Umatilla Forest Plan. The Screens are still in force today.

 In March 1994, interim strategies for managing anadromous fish-producing watersheds in

eastern Oregon and Washington, Idaho, and portions of California (PACFISH) were is8

sued. This interim direction is geared toward restoration of aquatic habitat and riparian areas

on lands administered by the Forest Service and BLM; PACFISH is still in force today.

 On January 21, 1994, the Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of the USDI Bureau

of Land Management signed a charter establishing the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem

Management Project (ICBEMP). This project resulted in broad- and mid-scale scientific

assessments covering more than 144 million acres (76 million of which are federal) in

seven western states. Although the environmental impact statement that would have

amended the Umatilla Forest Plan was never completed, the ICBEMP effort still produced

a wealth of scientific information that continues to influence management of the Umatilla

National Forest today.

 In 1996, a large amount of wildfire activity occurred on the southern half of the Umatilla

National Forest, with the Wheeler Point (Heppner RD), Tower, Bull, and Summit (North

Fork John Day RD) fires affecting more than 72,000 acres of national forest lands.

 During the 1990s, timber harvest levels declined dramatically; recent timber harvest levels

for the Umatilla National Forest (from the mid 1990s to the present) are the lowest they

have been since the mid 1950s.

 

2000s

 Late in the 1990s, a long-term nemesis of the Umatilla National Forest – Douglas-fir tussock

moth – once again reached outbreak status, and more than 39,000 acres were

sprayed with a natural virus in June and July of 2000 to minimize defoliation damage.

 In the mid 2000s, several very large forest fires occurred on the Umatilla National Forest,

with the School Fire burning about 28,000 acres of National Forest System lands in 2005

(Pomeroy Ranger District), the Columbia Complex Fire affecting about 50,000 acres in

2006 (Pomeroy and Walla Walla Ranger Districts), and the Monument Complex Fire covering

about 19,800 acres (Heppner Ranger District).

 In the late 2000s, moose numbers on the Umatilla National Forest increased to the point

where they were no longer considered a transient animal, and it is now assumed that a

resident population has gotten established."

[Guest OntarioSquatch]

Here's a reports map that contains geographical and seasonal trends

 

 

There's a high concentration of reports in a specific sub-range of the forest

21 reports from from 1998 to 2012

4 reports prior to 1998

18 reports from October to March

5 reports from April to September

 

Further view

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2016 by OntarioSquatch

[BigTreeWalker]

With respect to the Walla Walla/Blue Mountain reports there's no reason to think relocation, migration or any such thing. All four of those sightings are within 25 sq mi. Which is definitely on the small side for the home range of any large carnivore (cougars)  or omnivore (bears). If it is a home range it would be expected that the animals could be seen anywhere within it. For bigfoot it wouldn't be unreasonable to see one anywhere within a hundred square miles, even without any kind of migration. 

[BobbyO]

Wow, and of course the "wow" is directed at the absurd, childlike reply to my previous post on the last page.

 

And hats off to Ontario for sharing that research here, that's super cool.

 

 

 

 

I have a hunch Ontario, nothing more than that, that winter is the time that could lead to the most fruitful results.

 

Thats a real good seasonal cluster that you have there.

Edited November 24, 2016 by BobbyO

[JDL]

I wonder what a military intelligence group could intuit from the available data.

 

 

[Guest OntarioSquatch]

On 2016-11-24 at 3:00 AM, BobbyO said:

I have a hunch Ontario, nothing more than that, that winter is the time that could lead to the most fruitful results.

 

Thats a real good seasonal cluster that you have there.

 

They seem to concentrate in specific areas there during the summer. The NAWAC has been taking advantage of this for over a decade now. The level of activity they experience there is unprecedented and it's been largely due to willing interactions. The organization sees it as being mostly due to territorial aggression. Oddly, the interactions there stop as the leaves fall off the trees, but that's also when most eyewitnesses have their chance encounter in the mountains.

[BobbyO]

Movement i guess.

 

[MIB]

BobbyO -

 

I'm curious about the connection between roadside or road-crossing sightings and the presence of roadkill, in other words I'm curious whether a significant part of the road crossing sightings could be of bigfoot foraging.   Is there anything in the database directly addressing that?   Or, if not, can you infer anything based on other food availability at times there are concentrations of road sightings?   Or is there any suggestion it might be an individual bigfoot's learned behavior, not a shared behavior, by commonality of reported characteristics in a specific location?

 

MIB

[Redbone]

These 14 BFRO reports have "Road Crossing" and "Food Gathering" in common. I have not determined how many include Road Kill, but it wouldn't take too much effort to look through them. Hopefully the sighting links are still good.

 

SSRID		Class	Date	State	County	Latitude	Longitude	Altitude	Map Link	Moon Phase	Sighting Time	Evidence	Sighting Report
698		A	08/01/1974	CA	San Luis Obispo	35.644713	-120.636290	811.00			NED
2493		A	09/16/1974	MI	Calhoun	42.077969	-84.671905	997.40
4888		A	10/01/1981	AR	Benton	36.174568	-94.446615	979.00			NED
8113		A	07/01/1986	MI	Luce	46.535566	-85.592620	779.00
6076		A	02/09/1998	FL	Dixie	29.674072	-82.983368	26.20
2908		A	07/16/1998	OH	Mahoning	41.091700	-80.856979	1026.90			NED
7995		A	03/28/2000	WI	Clark	44.654603	-90.521100	1138.00
4997		A	04/01/2000	OK	Muskogee	35.751729	-95.517848	578.00			NED
7849		A	10/05/2002	NY	Essex	44.079600	-73.491600	785.00
8045		B	02/23/2007	MN	Pine	46.353584	-92.833845	1060.00
6040		A	08/13/2007	TX	Orange	30.127945	-93.814441	15.00
7752		A	06/22/2009	NY	Dutchess	41.943870	-73.878563	230.00
8128		B	07/19/2013	OH	Montgomery	39.730291	-84.395119	920.00
5999		A	12/28/2015	AR	White	35.347459	-91.600089	276.00

[MIB]

Interesting.  I don't see any Rocky Mountain states or Pac NW states represented.   What I'm really after are concentrations in areas with heavy snow, wintering game herds, that sort of thing.   I don't see anything ... don't know if that means there is nothing to see or just not enough data points to see it in.

[BigTreeWalker]

MIB, you mentioned roadkills. That got me to thinking that large concentrations of ungulate road kills would equate to larger populations of animals. Which in turn would possibly be a draw for bigfoot to be in the area. I found this study for the state of Washington showing ungulate/vehicle collisions and the reasons for concentrations of these collisions in specific areas. Of course the data is based on WSDOT records of the animals getting picked up after the collisions. So roadkill wouldn't probably be the reason for bigfoot frequenting these areas but rather the larger numbers of animals in the area. Western and northern Washington are mostly forested so if a person were to correlate the sighting records with the collision sites there might be something to look at there. 

 

This is the study: An Analysis of Deer and Elk-Vehicle Collision Sites along State Highways in Washington State An Analysis of Deer and Elk ...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/701.1.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwizx4ni78fQAhUU0GMKHdRpAU4QFggpMAI&usg=AFQjCNHrVVGwcueX1tDg_IYpqWYgoUCpdw&sig2=6Z_VKIZEZJ8yXSE-0t70jw

 

I also found a milepost map of Washington so the locations in the study could be correlated with a map. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/products/maps_pdf/MilepostMapState2013.pdf

 

Just a cursory examination and comparison with sightings in Grays Harbor County there looks like a correlation with ungulate collisions and bigfoot sightings along 101, SR 12, and SR 8.

[BobbyO]

MIB, great questions and valid too, thanks to Red for looking at that and I'll follow up taking a direct look at each report there as to see why the two actually collate and add to this thread.

 

Big Tree, great input and real interesting, thank you.

 

Can't wait to look in to those links and I will soon.

 

PS BigTree, looked a little in to Wyoming yesterday, will write soon.

 

Im on a working Sunday.

[Explorer]

If BFs routinely eat deer, then I would imagine that they do not rely on vehicle collisions to obtain their deer meats and are pretty capable of hunting them.  I am not saying that they would not be opportunistic.

If BFs follow the migrating deer herd, then I would expect BF sighting reports to peak at the same time as deer-vehicle collision reports.

Per the report that BigTreeWalker posted, tilted An Analysis of Deer and Elk-Vehicle Collision Sites along State Highways in Washington State, “the highest mean daily deer-vehicle collisions was observed during the fall migration (October 10-30) followed by the breeding season (November 1-25) and wintering season (December 16- March 1)”.

However, on my recent analysis of Hwy. 101 in Grays Harbor, the peak BF visual sightings reports from vehicles occurred in July.  Thus, not a good fit but too small of a sample to draw any conclusions.

A more in depth and thorough study would be required to check for correlations between BF sighting reports and deer-vehicles collisions by month and geographic location (with enough granularity to identify the road and mile-post) across the whole state.

I thought somebody in Colorado had done a study comparing ungulate population density to BF sighting reports using GIS mapping software and found a strong visual and statistical correlation?  I think I saw map in one of those older TV shows (Monster Quest?).

[BigTreeWalker]

Explorer, there's lots of information in that report. Not all deer/car collisions are due to migration. Some are due to resident deer populations; which is the case with the Grays Harbor area. You included 3 out of ten sightings in your report, which you did a great job on by the way. But more of the sightings could be used in this case. If you note in the study, highway 101, SR 12 and 8 have high incidences of deer collisions. So more sightings along all those portions of highways could be included. Another area that shows high car/deer mortality is on SR 12 between Mossyrock and Morton. Again not a migration route (blacktail deer don't really migrate like some mule deer do). They even give the milepost numbers for those areas. Is it a coincidence that that area also has a larger number of bigfoot sightings? Just something to ponder. More work definitely needs to be done in that direction. 

 

What you said about Colorado I believe is what BobbyO is referring to when he mentions the Triangle. 

[Redbone]

A search for witness "driving" and "food gathering" yields more results than "'road crossing" and "food gathering". Not every subject seen by drivers actually crosses the road.

 

SSRID		Class	Date	State	County	Latitude	Longitude	Altitude	Map Link	Moon Phase	Sighting Time	Evidence	Sighting Report
6900		A	07/18/1960	WA	OP Mason	47.133279	-123.098299	203.00
698		A	08/01/1974	CA	San Luis Obispo	35.644713	-120.636290	811.00			NED
2493		A	09/16/1974	MI	Calhoun	42.077969	-84.671905	997.40
5091		A	11/04/1974	OK	Seminole	35.232117	-96.605054	920.00
5650		A	10/01/1975	TX	Parker	32.731823	-98.056871	807.10			NED
4888		A	10/01/1981	AR	Benton	36.174568	-94.446615	979.00			NED
8113		A	07/01/1986	MI	Luce	46.535566	-85.592620	779.00
7337		B	04/01/1988	AL	Lauderdale	34.902352	87.970373	458.00			NED
5290		A	07/01/1992	AL	Marshall	34.463286	-86.298178	595.00			NED
6076		A	02/09/1998	FL	Dixie	29.674072	-82.983368	26.20
2908		A	07/16/1998	OH	Mahoning	41.091700	-80.856979	1026.90			NED
7995		A	03/28/2000	WI	Clark	44.654603	-90.521100	1138.00
4997		A	04/01/2000	OK	Muskogee	35.751729	-95.517848	578.00			NED
2937		A	07/27/2001	CA	Siskiyou	41.048303	-122.932120	5036.00
7849		A	10/05/2002	NY	Essex	44.079600	-73.491600	785.00
4727		A	12/21/2002	OK	Nowata	36.917067	-95.796457	851.00
4002		A	11/26/2003	KS	Sumner	37.514451	-97.324823	1232.00			NED
2382		A	01/02/2004	TX	Liberty	30.281107	-94.810542	1015.40
7808		B	06/18/2004	AK	Southeast Fairbanks	63.010712	-141.788275	1814.00
8184		A	07/03/2005	BC	SBC Okanogan-Similkameen	49.080537	119.709650	1223.00			NED
6876		A	11/15/2005	WA	OP Kitsap	47.761860	-122.639378	107.00
6668		A	03/15/2006	FL	Charlotte	26.863281	-81.672130	35.00
4504		A	04/01/2006	MO	Cedar	37.635384	-93.655034	1001.60			NED
7570		A	06/28/2006	WA	EW Okanogan	48.367996	-119.283418	2647.00
2212		B	11/09/2006	WI	Washington	43.250352	-88.319578	1134.80
8045		B	02/23/2007	MN	Pine	46.353584	-92.833845	1060.00
8165		A	03/30/2007	BC	VI Alberni-Clayoquot	49.295340	-125.298540	219.00
6040		A	08/13/2007	TX	Orange	30.127945	-93.814441	15.00
7752		A	06/22/2009	NY	Dutchess	41.943870	-73.878563	230.00
6806		B	09/01/2009	MI	Monroe	41.972440	-83.358710	626.00			NED
563		B	08/16/2010	DE	Sussex	38.795301	-75.257677	13.00
7488		A	09/06/2010	MO	McDonald	36.519100	-94.615300	915.00
7468		A	10/17/2010	IL	Fulton	39.781800	-89.647000	603.00
6141		A	10/15/2011	GA	Paulding	33.941475	-84.841387	958.00			NED
5999		A	12/28/2015	AR	White	35.347459	-91.600089	276.00

Edited November 27, 2016 by Redbone
remove broken links