The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

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Toston to Milligan CreekSpeciesGeographic BoundaryThe linkage extends across the southernfoothills of the Elkhorn Mountains fromthe Boulder River on the west, northeastto the Missouri River valley betweenCanyon Ferry Reservoir and Townsend,south along Highway 287 to Toston,southwest to upper Milligan Creek at I-90,and west to the mouth of the BoulderRiver.Importance of Linkage AreaThis linkage provides an open-countrylinkage from the north and east sidesof the Tobacco Root Mountains to theElkhorn Mountains and the southern endof the Big Belts. It serves as a northwardlink for grizzly bear and wolves movingfrom the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem(GYE) northward. It also provides corehabitat for pronghorn antelope, andseasonal habitat for mule deer.Mountain ranges connected in thislinkage: Elkhorn, Big Belt, and TobaccoRoot Mountains.Ecological SettingThis linkage includes the open foothillshabitat between the Boulder River andthe Missouri River south of the ElkhornMountains. The area is primarilygrassland with scattered big sagebrush(Artemisia tridentata spp.) communities,with a few small scattered patchesof Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperusscopulorum), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii), and limber pine (Pinusflexilis) in the far south end of thelinkage. The linkage has been widelydeveloped for dry land grain crops andmuch of the native vegetation has beenconverted. Farm roads are commonin the northeastern corner betweenRadersburg and Townsend with general179access roads available elsewhere.Interstate 90 bisects the south end of thelinkage. Residential development hasoccurred along Highway 287 east of thelinkage and adjacent to the Missouri RiverValley, but large-acreage subdivisionshave recently expanded into farmlandin upper Milligan canyon and northwestof the Three Forks exit on I-90. Averageelevation in this linkage is about 4,800feet.WildlifePronghorn and mule deer are widelydispersed in the linkage yearlong.Wolves and grizzly bears: This linkageconnects the Elkhorns and Tobacco Rootsas a suitable corridor for northwardmovement and expansion by both species.The Jefferson River canyon at Lewisand Clark Caverns up to CottonwoodCanyon and Dougherty Mountain maybe a potential grizzly bear movementarea northward from the Tobacco Roots.However the open character of thehabitat, coupled with the amount ofhuman disturbance, limits the potentialfor that use throughout the linkage.Sharp-tailed grouse: The interspersionof sagebrush and native grasslandssupport sharp-tailed grouse in upperMilligan Creek and along the edge of theMissouri River valley between Toston andTownsend. However, this is becomingmore constrained by habitat conversion.Conservation ThreatsDevelopment: Large subdivision inthe south and east sides of the linkageare developing native habitat, as wellas increasing human presence anddisturbance. This affects pronghorn,mule deer and sharp-tailed grouseuse. Recreational demand on thesurrounding area also increases with that
development. Subdivision, fencing and furtherconversion of native sagebrush and grasslandssouth of I-90 could result in displacement ofmost pronghorn use and loss of suitable habitat.Power line construction: The proposedconstruction of a 500kV power line fromTownsend to Boulder or Whitehall wouldrequire additional service roads, and representsa potential collision hazard for migratingsongbirds, waterfowl and bats, particularly atnight.Livestock fencing represent a barrier tomovementOil and gas leasing: Potential oil and gasdevelopment in the Elkhorn foothills wouldfurther fragment habitat and increase humandisturbance.Conversion of sagebrush habitat into dryland crops is displacing some of that wildlifeuse, particularly as winter habitat. However,croplands may also provide an alternate shorttermfood source.Conservation OpportunitiesLand use planning: Broadwater County isinitiating a land use planning process that couldguide future development in critical areas.180
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Executive SummaryMaintaining the ec
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Map 1. The Hub Conservation Area ma
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Map 3. Major elk linkages identifie
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Map 6. Major mule deer linkages ide
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Map 8. Major wolf linkages identifi
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Map 10. Major grizzly bear linkages
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For information regarding contents
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American Wildlands’ PriorityLinka
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Georgetown Lake,photo by Grace Hamm
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Beaverhead Mountains to the south,
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with mountainous wet meadows and ri
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irds). This step was repeated for c
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Figure 4. Hierarchical breakdown of
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sanitation and conflict issues betw
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Literature ReviewThis review is mea
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that this impediment is deleterious
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may not provide functional connecti
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available during dispersal, and new
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and desert; this reflects overall a
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Photo by Denver Bryanpopulations. L
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Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus)
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GUIDE TO READINGPRIORITY LINKAGE AS
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Absaroka to CraziesSpeciesGeographi
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BangtailsSpeciesGeographic Boundary
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Bear CreekSpeciesGeographic Boundar
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Big BeltsSpeciesGeographic Boundary
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to disease transmission between dom
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sightings in the Birch Creek area.
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Elk move within this linkage for wi
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south of the linkage area.Wolverine
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ange for about 200 elk, and the Spr
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winter range is private land on the
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e using the Little Belt Mountains,
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Front south along the Continental D
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Clinton to DrummondSpeciesGeographi
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There has been a settlement with At
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Mountain Goats: The highest density
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suspected in very low levels, even
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dispersal corridor for all of these
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the area. Hunting access in general
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with the Elkhorns.Wolverines are kn
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FleecerSpeciesGeographic BoundaryFl
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negotiated grazing agreements on th
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traffic volumes are increasing sign
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pack in the linkage. The large size
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Garnets to BouldersSpeciesGeographi
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persistent spring snow and may be k
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Garnets. The Clark Fork River Corri
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Horseshoe HillsSpeciesGeographic Bo
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Hound CreekSpeciesGeographic Bounda
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Jefferson SloughSpeciesGeographic B
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117
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Willow packs moved here from the po
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the high potential for conflict wit
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the Castle Mountains south of Whets
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Lolo to TurahSpeciesGeographic Boun
Page 129 and 130: path; this could further fragment w
Page 131 and 132: Lost TrailSpeciesGeographic Boundar
Page 133 and 134: MacDonald Pass toFleecer/Mt. Haggin
Page 135 and 136: claims within the area and 75 are b
Page 137 and 138: Conservation ThreatsDevelopment cou
Page 139 and 140: MaxvilleSpeciesGeographic BoundaryT
Page 141 and 142: Norris HillSpeciesGeographic Bounda
Page 143 and 144: PipestoneSpeciesGeographic Boundary
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Page 147 and 148: persistent snow pack.Lynx: Boles Cr
Page 149 and 150: Potter BasinSpeciesGeographic Bound
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Page 153 and 154: Mountain goats exist in small pocke
Page 155 and 156: Rocky Mountain Front to Big BeltMou
Page 157 and 158: Disease between bighorn sheep and d
Page 159 and 160: the linkage, grizzly bear forage in
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Page 163 and 164: Several bighorn sheep herds form am
Page 165 and 166: Silver StarSpeciesGeographic Bounda
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Page 169 and 170: controlled. In recent years, approx
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Page 173 and 174: StickneySpeciesGeographic BoundaryT
Page 175 and 176: SulaSpeciesGeographic BoundaryThe S
Page 177 and 178: Tom Miner to Mill CreekSpeciesGeogr
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Page 183 and 184: Townsend from 1000 to 300 animals.
Page 185 and 186: These appear to be important for gr
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Page 189 and 190: Other existing packs include the Wo
Page 191 and 192: Creek and the Boulder River south o
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Page 195 and 196: Harestad A.S., and F.L. Bunnell. 19
Page 197 and 198: Trakhtenbrot, A. R. Nathan, G. Perr
Page 199 and 200: Appendix 1 (cont.).Table 1Mammals o
Page 201 and 202: Appendix 2 (cont.).Table 2Home Rang
Page 203 and 204: Appendix 3 (cont.).Table 3Migration
Page 205 and 206: Appendix 4 (cont.).Table 4Dispersal
Page 207 and 208: Appendix 5 (cont.).Studies Demonstr
Page 209: American Wildlands ~ Winter 2008
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The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

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