The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

MaxvilleSpeciesGeographic BoundaryThe Maxville linkage area is located atthe northern end of the Philipsburg Valleybetween the John Longs Mountains tothe west and the Flint Creek Range tothe east. The Clark Fork River lies to thenorth. The northern linkage boundary runsacross the valley near Hall; the southernboundary runs between the mountains atPhilipsburg.Importance of Linkage AreaThis linkage provides east-west wildlifeconnectivity between the Flint CreekRange, the John Long Mountains, northsouthconnectivity between the northend of the Philipsburg Valley and theDrummond area.Mountain ranges connected in thislinkage: John Long Mountains and theFlint Creek RangeEcological SettingThe Maxville linkage spans the FlintCreek Canyon between the PhilipsburgValley and the Clark Fork Valley atDrummond. This area of relatively lowmountains is forested primary by Douglasfir(Pseudotsuga menziesii) and lodgepolepine (Pinus contorta), and has sustainedsignificant habitat fragmentation fromtimber harvest and roads, power linecorridors and mining activity. Highway1 bisects the linkage along Flint Creek,and the overall road density of improvedand unimproved roads is high. Yearlongranching operations bound the linkage toboth the north and south with irrigatedhaylands and pasture in many areas southof Drummond and north of the linkage.Elevations in the linkage range from 4800feet on lower Flint Creek to over 8300 feetnear the Flint Creek Range.138WildlifeThe Maxville linkage is a movementcorridor for wolves, elk, pronghorn, andbighorn sheep. The foothills betweenFlint Creek and Willow Creek are veryimportant, as is the narrow corridor nearMaxville with nearly continuous forestthrough the John Long Mountains and FlintCreek Range.Grizzly Bears may have high potentialfor connectivity in the future. Thebottleneck of forest at Maxville isthought to be important for grizzly bearmovement between the John Longs andFlint Creek Range. A male grizzly bearwas recently trapped by Montana Fish,Wildlife and Parks. In Drummond to thenorth of this linkage area, there was averified grizzly bear in the John Longs.There were also several unverified grizzlybear movements between the Flints andJohn Long Mountains.Wolves: The Philipsburg Valley wasimportant historical wolf range. Thereis both north/south and east/westmovement through the valley. The north/south movement is very important forconnecting the High Divide region in thesouth, with the upper end of the Hubregion/lower Cabinet Purcells. Thereare multiple existing packs, includingthe Upper Willow Creek, Sapphire, andBearmouth packs. A small pack roams thearea from Hall to Garrison and DouglasMountain (north end of Flint Creek,including Gold and Wallace Creek).Elk: Elk summer in the central FlintCreek Range and winter on the public/private land interface on the east side ofthe Philipsburg Valley. In winter the elkare especially concentrated along thefoothills of the Flint Creek Range betweenPhilipsburg and Maxville. A population