The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

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WhitetailSpeciesGeographic BoundaryThis linkage area encompasses thesoutheast section of the BoulderMountains, known as the Bull Mountains.Interstate 15 forms the northern andwestern boundary from the town ofBoulder south to Butte. Interstate 90forms the southern boundary. The easternboundary runs along Highway 69 in theBoulder Valley. The Continental Divideskirts the southwestern side of thelinkage near Butte. The Elk Park Valleylies along the western edge, the WhitetailReservoir and Little Boulder River liewithin the center.Importance of Linkage AreaOn a regional scale, this linkageprovides connectivity for wildlife movingnorth-south along the Continental Dividebetween the Sawtooths (Bob MarshallWilderness) in the North and theuppermost mountain ranges of the HighDivide.Mountain ranges connected in thislinkage: Boulders, Sawtooths (RockyMountain Front), Elkhorns, Highlands,Robert E. Lee Mountains, and BullMountains.Ecological SettingThis linkage includes a wide variety oftopography and vegetation, as well ashuman activities. The western part ofthe linkage north of Butte and west ofI-15 includes the upper watershed ofthe Boulder River. The area is heavilytimbered by lodgepole (Pinus contorta)and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)forest but with rather widespreadnatural openings and meadows, mostassociated with riparian areas anddrainages. Elk Park, on I-15, is by farthe largest of these meadow complexes,189lying on the Continental Divide justoutside of Butte. It has the reputationof being one of the coldest places inthe region during winter months. Eastof I-15, mountains are quite steepand rugged, and forested with nearlymonotypic stands of lodgepole pine.This area is the northern end of thegranite outcrops and monoliths thatextend southward through HomestakePass and into the Highland Mountainssouth of I-90. Whitetail Creek is a largeopen drainage that bisects the linkagenorth of Whitehall and separates BullMountain from the more mountainousterrain to the west. Bull Mountain isthe watershed divide between WhitetailCreek and the lower Boulder River, andsupports a patchy Douglas-fir forest.Dry grasslands and scattered sagebrush(Artemisia tridentata spp.) habitat inthe Whitetail Creek drainage and onthe east slopes of Bull Mountain reflectthe rain shadow effect of significantlyless precipitation that falls on the eastside of the Continental Divide. TheBoulder River flows northward in itsheadwaters, turns east above Berniceto flow through Basin and Boulder, thenturns to flow south to its confluence withthe Jefferson River at Cardwell, thusnearly encircling the entire linkage. Theriver supports significant cottonwood(Populus spp.), aspen (P. tremuloides)and willow (Salix spp.) riparian habitatthroughout its length. Timber harvestand road development have occurredarea-wide, but mostly in the west.Significant open pit, underground andplacer mining activity has occurred inthis area. Interstate 15 passes throughthe center of the linkage and I-90 boundsthe linkage on the south. Highway 69follows the Boulder River from Cardwellto Boulder. Irrigated hay land andpasture are present along Whitetail
Creek and the Boulder River south of Boulder,and have often been converted from woodyriparian habitat. The large Golden Sunlightopen pit gold mine is located on the south endof Bull Mountain above I-90 and the JeffersonRiver. Residential development and subdivisionis widespread on private lands, particularlyin the southern and eastern portions of thelinkage. With this level of human occupancyand the proximity to larger population centersof Helena and Butte, recreational use of thislinkage is high, and off-road vehicle use issignificant.WildlifeThis area currently functions as a movementcorridor for both carnivores and ungulatesmoving off the Continental Divide. Much theentire northern end of the linkage area, fromBoulder to Walkerville, is intact, open, greatwildlife habitat. The area between Basin andBernice along the Boulder River is great habitatfor elk, moose, bighorn sheep, and mountaingoats. Homestake Pass, in the southern end ofthe linkage area, has naturally high potentialfor wildlife connectivity between the Huband High Divide conservation areas, but isfragmented by I-90.Grizzly: There is a historical level ofoccupancy. There is potential for grizzly bearhabitat in the Basin area, and there is a highpotential for north-south movement alongthe Continental Divide, particularly aroundHomestake Pass.Wolves are moving across the Elk Park areabetween the west and east sections of theBoulder mountains. They are also moving northsouthalong the Continental Divide.Wolverines are moving through the area. Thereis potential for wolverine habitat in the Basinarea, although most of this linkage area is toodry, has a low carrion base, and therefore, notthe best wolverine habitat.Lynx tracks were verified by a Montana Fish,Wildlife and Parks biologist along the LittleBoulder River south of Basin.Elk winter in the lower areas of the WestBoulder Mountains and move into the Elk190Park area in the summertime. Many elk movebetween the towns of Bernice and Basin, acrucial calving area within the linkage. Elkuse Little Whitetail Creek to move betweenthe Boulder and Bull Mountains. The UpperWhitetail Creek connects the Bull Mountainswith the Whitetail basin and there is yeararoundelk movement between those areas.In the south end of the linkage area, elkinhabit the Pipestone -Whitetail Creek area.Ratio Mountain is an important movementcorridor for elk between these two areas. Inlate summer, elk move back and forth. TheWhitetail Reservoir is an important calvingarea. The Boulder River corridor is importantfor elk movement between mountain ranges.Moose winter range occurs primarily east ofI-15 in the south and west side of the linkagearea. Moose also occur between the LittleBlackfoot River and Basin, and throughoutthe Whitetail Peak and Little Boulder Rivercorridor, which has significant, but declining,willow habitat. Moose also occur throughoutthe Pipestone -Whitetail Creek area.Pronghorn occur in the Pipestone area, butthe habitat is marginal; the herd currentlyexists on private land. There are also about300-400 pronghorn living between the eastBull Mountains and Highway 69; this is the bestpronghorn habitat in the linkage.The westernmost population of white-tailedprairie dogs occurs in this linkage.Conservation ThreatsDevelopment: Within this linkage area, manyprivate in-holdings and old mining claimswithin the Forest are beginning to develop. TheForest is required to provide access, and anyopportunities to close roads and create blocksof unroaded, secure habitat can be eliminated.Expanding development in the creek drainagesalong Highway 69 in the east side of the linkagearea could fragment pronghorn habitat. In theLittle Whitetail Creek area, there is privateland subdivision in the Bull Mountains near thevalley bottom.Recreation: Social pressure is mounting toopen up the entire area to recreational vehicle
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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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105
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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
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path; this could further fragment w
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Lost TrailSpeciesGeographic Boundar
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MacDonald Pass toFleecer/Mt. Haggin
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claims within the area and 75 are b
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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
Page 161 and 162: influencing how wildlife connectivi
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 181 and 182: development. Subdivision, fencing a
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Page 185 and 186: These appear to be important for gr
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Page 189: Other existing packs include the Wo
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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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