The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

These appear to be important for grizzlybear and other species like elk, fisher, andwolverine. These links cross the Clark ForkRiver, Highway 200, Interstate 90, and theBlackfoot River from north to south. A radiocollaredgrizzly bear used the Clark Fork facefor movement between Turah and Clinton.Greenough Creek, Donovan Creek, Kendalland Turah Creeks are potentially importantcreeks for grizzly bear connectivity. Grizzlybear activity has been recorded in Rock Creek;these bears most likely traveled south from theGarnet Range. Once grizzly bears get acrossthe fracture zones of the lower Clark Fork andBlackfoot Rivers they have a greater chance ofsuccess fully recolonizing historic range.Transient wolves move through this area buthave not attempted to establish packs. Thepotential for wolf movement through this areais from the Bitterroot Valley north throughTurah and north to the Seeley-Swan. Withinthis linkage there are high concentrations ofungulate prey. Another wolf pack within thislinkage area is the Elevation Mountain pack.Elevation Mountain is the west part of theirhome range, going from the Garnets to DouglasCreek. This “triangle” area is an importanthistorical area for wolves.Wolverine: The river bottom is important forpotential north-south wolverine movementbetween Turah and Clinton. Wolverines maycross at the lower Clark Fork and lowerBlackfoot Rivers. This linkage area connectsnorth to the Seeley Lake area across Highway200.Lynx occupy a part of the linkage area fromthe Scapegoat Wilderness to Clinton. Themost important habitat within this linkage isChamberlain and Union Creeks in the WestGarnet Range, above 5000 ft. This area haspatches of boreal forest, and supports the onlyknown population of endemic lynx on BLM land.There are very few individuals. There has neverbeen documented lynx movement between theWest Garnet Range and Chamberlain Creek.Elk summer and winter throughout this area.There are several distinct herds that use specificwinter ranges. On the very western edge ofthe linkage there is the Mount Jumbo elk winterrange. A small number of elk move up the eastside of Rattlesnake Creek to Sheep Mountain/Wisherd Ridge and to summer range in WoodyMountain. Within the West Garnet Range, about200 elk move between Cramer Creek in thewinter and Ashby Creek in the summer. To thenorth, Kendall Creek and Bonner Mountain haveyear-round herd of about 100 elk. Elk movebetween this area down to Bear Creek andPotomac. Morrison Peak also has year-round elkpopulations. To the west, elk winter on privateranch land south of the Blackfoot-ClearwaterWildlife Management Area (WMA). Elk moveup into Fish Creek for the spring, summer andfall. The upper Chamberlain Creek elk herdunit summer in the high elevations and theirwinter range is at Blacktail Mountain. Elk movebetween winter ranges in the Bearmouth area,the Myers Ranch, and the south face of theGarnet Range to summer range in Union Creek.These elk herds are separate from each otherand from the elk herds in the East GarnetRange. There are some other elk movementpatterns from Woodchuck Canyon to the GarnetRange at Greenough. There is a lot of northsouthelk movement across Highway 200 fromthe Blackfoot-Clearwater WMA.Moose: This entire linkage area is important formoose, particularly along the intersection ofMonture Creek and the Blackfoot River.Bighorn Sheep: The Milltown Bighorn sheepwere an introduced herd.Conservation ThreatsDevelopment: Though there is currentlyrelatively limited development within thislinkage, some of the areas like Gold Creek andBelmont Creek owned by the Plum Creek TimberCompany are not part of the Legacy Project.Highways: Highway 200 and Interstate 90 causeshabitat fragmentation and animal-vehiclecollisions. Numerous elk and bighorn sheep (atMilltown) are getting hit. And if developmentoccurs, there would be increased impact onanimals crossing Highway 200.Energy Development: Silver and gold minesleached cyanide into the Blackfoot Riverupstream near Lincoln, causing great ecological184