The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

Little Belts to CraziesSpeciesGeographic BoundaryThis linkage area includes the easternpart of the Castle Mountains in theWhetstone Ridge and Pasture Gulchareas, the southern part of the Little BeltMountains in the Spring Creek area, andsouth along the Muddy and Cottonwoodcreek drainages to the north-centralfoothills of the Crazy Mountains.Importance of Linkage AreaThis linkage area provides connectivityfor wildlife moving from the Little BeltMountains into the Castle Mountains,and from the Castles into the CrazyMountains. Because this linkage areaconnects the Little Belt Mountains tothe Crazy Mountains, there is potentialfor animals movement between theRocky Mountain Front and the GreaterYellowstone Ecosystem.Mountain ranges connected in thislinkage: Little Belt Mountains, CastleMountains, and Crazy Mountains.Ecological SettingThe Little Belts to the Crazy Mountainslinkage spans the North Fork andSouth Fork of the Musselshell Riverwest of Martinsdale, and extends upCottonwood Creek to the foothills ofthe Crazy Mountains. This foothillsarea is a mix of sagebrush (Artemisiatridentata spp.) and grassland habitatwith scattered patches of Douglas-fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii), ponderosa pine(Pinus ponderosa) and Rocky Mountainjuniper (Juniperus scopulorum). Wetmeadows and willow (Salix spp.) riparianareas are common throughout the area.Cottonwood Creek and the south fork ofthe Musselshell River (from its confluencewith Cottonwood Creek) are dominated123by cottonwoods (Populus trichocarpa).The area is primarily ranchland. Irrigatedhay lands and pasture have beendeveloped in the larger riparian areas,often removing the native shrubs, andwhere water diversion is feasible, uplandnative grasslands have come under hayproduction. Numerous stock ponds andsmall reservoirs impound water on rivertributaries for irrigation use. Highways12 and 294 bisect the linkage and bothforks of the Musselshell River. Elevationin the linkage ranges from 4,800 feet toabout 6,300 feet.WildlifeGrizzly and Black bear: Currently thereare no verified accounts of grizzly bearswithin this linkage area although thereare consistent reports of them in theCrazy Mountains to the south. Black bearsuse the Cottonwood Creek corridor formovement between the Castle Mountainsand the Crazies, and the Pasture Gulch/Spring Creek corridor of movementbetween the Castles and the Little BeltMountains.Wolverines in the Little Belts are of thesame mitochondrial line as the CrazyMountains, which implies movementbetween the two ranges. Biologistssuggest that the same wolverinescould possibly be using the Little BeltMountains, Castle Mountains, and CrazyMountains as home range. The mostimportant major linkage that wouldconnect these island mountain rangesis Pasture Gulch, east of Checkerboard,south to Cottonwood Creek. This linkagemay also be used by moose, and wolves.Wolves: There are no wolves activelydenning in this area, although wolfactivity is occasionally reported.Elk winter along the southeast end of