The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

of about 500 elk live in the area from Hall toGarrison and Douglas Mountain.Moose: The lower drainages of the Flint CreekRange between Philipsburg and Maxville aregood moose habitat.Bighorn Sheep: There is movement betweenthe Lower Rock Creek and Philipsburg area. Thebighorn sheep in this western end of the Hubmay be functioning under a metapopulationdynamic.Pronghorn: There is pronghorn migrationbetween the Philipsburg Valley and theKleinschmidt Flats to the north of the linkagearea. The south end of the Philipsburg Valley hasthe largest pronghorn winter range in the area.Conservation ThreatsDevelopment: Residential development is increasingin the Philipsburg Valley and there is no land useplanning. The entire pronghorn winter range in thePhilipsburg Valley is on private land and owned byeight people. There is also new developmentinterest in the Maxville area; this is a keycorridor for carnivores.Recreation: The Discovery Ski Area inPhilipsburg may encourage more development inthe valley. There is significant off-road vehicleactivity around Philipsburg; so far, it is notaffecting elk population viability.Social issues: Considerable intolerance forcarnivores due to some livestock conflicts. TheUpper Willow Creek pack has been lethallycontrolled.Access: The privatization of wildlife isincreasing due to limited access across privatelands to reach the adjacent public lands. Thesporting outfitter, Cabelas, is pursuing soleaccess to much of the private land in the area.Conservation OpportunitiesCommunity Conservation Interests: The FlintCreek Watershed group has been meeting forthree to four years and has a growing, optimisticmembership. The group covers the geographicalarea from Hall to Philipsburg.139