The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

Willow packs moved here from the populationsintroduced in central Idaho, and the Bearmouthpack is present. The John Longs linkage is greatwolf habitat.Grizzly bear activity is verified here. The areawest of Drummond in the north end of thelinkage area, moving into Antelope Valley, wasidentified as a grizzly bear “crossing” area; thisconnects the west Garnet Mountains to LowerWillow Basin.Between the Garnets and the John Longs, themain wildlife connectivity pathway is boundedby Flint Creek and Willow Creek.Conservation ThreatsLivestock- wolf conflicts are frequent. Manypacks have had to be lethally controlled.Bighorn sheep-vehicle collisions are a high riskas sheep move across Interstate 90 near theBearmouth area.Development threat is a high risk in the RockCreek Valley, especially in the lower end of thestream.Conservation OpportunitiesThere is opportunity for the developmentof predator-livestock conflict avoidanceprograms.Stream protection in the Rock Creek Valley isthe focus of a new Montana Fish, Wildlife andParks position.There are opportunities for promoting wildlifesafe passage mitigation work in well-definedareas where bighorn sheep are crossing majorroads.119