The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

Georgetown Lake,photo by Grace HammondGallatin Rivers form the Missouri River, whichflows north into the Helena valley and thenbends north and east of the Big Belts. Both theBridger’s and Big Belts are isolated ranges, withbroad valleys on both sides-the Smith RiverValley to the east of the Big Belts, and theShields River Valley to the east of the Bridger’s.The lower Bangtail Mountains are adjacentto the south end of the Bridger’s. Both theBridger’s and the Bangtails are separated fromthe Gallatin’s by Bozeman Pass, a twenty eightmile stretch of rolling hills. The very easternHub has three distinct mountain ranges; all ofwhich are not linear in shape. The Little Beltsis the northernmost of these ranges. The SmithRiver and its’ associated valley lie between theBig Belts and Little Belts. The Castle Mountainslie between the Little Belts and the CrazyMountains to the south. To the south of theCastles, between the Crazy Mountains and theBridger/Bangtails, is the Shields River and itsbroad associated valley. East of the ContinentalDivide, the landscape becomes increasingly21drier; the intermountain valleys historicallywere sagebrush steppe, but have now largelybeen converted to dry land crops. Ponderosapine (Pinus ponderosa) is found extensively eastof the Divide.The area south of the Bridger’s, Bangtails, andCrazies, the southeastern edge of the Hub,is similar to the northern boundary in that itconsists of nearly continuous mountain ranges.The Boulder Plateau is continuous with theAbsaroka-Beartooths, which are separated fromthe Gallatin’s by the relatively lush ParadiseValley. The Yellowstone River flows norththrough the Paradise Valley, turning to the eastonce it emerges at the north end of the ParadiseValley. The Gallatin and Madison Range areseparated by the very narrow Gallatin Canyon.West of the Madison’s, the landscape onceagain becomes the predominately basin-rangegeography of the High Divide.