The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

Winter recreational use, in the form of bothsnowmobiling and the development of a ski areaat Philipsburg, is also listed as a threat. Thereare proposals to pave Highway 38 (SkalkahoRoad) where it runs across the Sapphires andconnects the Bitterroot Valley to the PhilipsburgValley; if this happens, it would have thepotential to sever the connectivity in half andwould increase development in the PhilipsburgValley.Increasingly, access to wildlife on publiclands for hunting is becoming limited. Theungulate winter range habitat between Darbyand Missoula is going to be lost to exurbandevelopment and infrastructure (traffic- related)development to support increased exurbanpopulations.Fencing is an issue for ungulate movementwithin the linkage area. The Georgetown toMill Creek area has increased private landsubdivision.Conservation OpportunitiesThe Sapphire Mountains are a large block ofpublic land thatis great wildlifehabitat. There areopportunities toadvance privateland conservationin the Trout Creek-Porters Corners toEast Fork of RockCreek.A watershed groupin Granite Countyis beginning togrow. A Flint CreekWatershed groupis forming. Thereare communityopportunities in theLower Willow Creekarea (west of Hall).Transportationplanning will bea key factor indetermining thelong term ability forwildlife to co-exist in the Bitterroot Valley withpeople. There are some discussions of commuterprojects to help alleviate traffic pressure fromStevensville to Missoula.In the Bitterroot Valley, some countycommissioners are pushing for zoning. Thereare several land trusts, sportsman’s clubs, andspecies-specific conservation groups interestedin conservation of this area. In the Philipsburgarea, there have been recent land conservationefforts between the Flint Creek Range and theAnaconda-Pintlers.163