Beaverhead Mountains to the south, and theBitterroot Range to the north. West of theSapphire Mountains lies the Bitterroot Valley.<strong>The</strong> Bitterroot River runs through the centerof this valley. <strong>The</strong> city of Missoula is at thevery northern end of the Bitterroot Valley. Atthe western edge of the <strong>Hub</strong> are the ruggedBitterroot Mountains.Regional <strong>Wildlife</strong> MovementGrizzly bears, black bears, lynx, wolverine,wolves, mountain lions, elk, moose, pronghorn,bighorn sheep, and mountain goats can all befound in the <strong>Hub</strong> region.Grizzly bear populations are thriving andexpanding in the Cabinet-Yaak and Crown ofthe Continent (Northern Continental DivideEcosystem) to the north of the <strong>Hub</strong>. As a result,the biologists interviewed for this assessmentgenerally described a southbound movementfrom these “core” areas into the <strong>Hub</strong>. <strong>The</strong>re aregreater numbers of verified grizzly activity fromthe Continental Divide to the western edges ofthe <strong>Hub</strong>. Most of the activity described occurredin the mountainous, forested landscapes ofthe Boulder Mountains, Garnet Mountains,Flint Creek Range, Sapphires and BitterrootMountains, with primary movement betweenthese ranges happening via riparian corridorslike the Clark Fork and Blackfoot River, orsmaller tributaries. Reports of grizzly east ofthe Continental Divide were less numerous, andalmost entirely restricted to the area betweenMarysville and the Elkhorn Mountains, and afew in the very northern Big Belt Mountains.<strong>The</strong> exception to this are the accounts ofgrizzly bear moving northward out of theYellowstone National Park area and into therugged Absaroka-Gallatin-Madison mountaincomplex. Biologists indirectly attributed thisprevalence of bear activity west of the Divide asdriven by habitat factors, including higher berryproduction, better vegetative forage due toincreased moistness. As ungulate populations areprolific throughout the <strong>Hub</strong>, vegetative qualityand density (i.e., cover habitat) may indeed bea factor rather than lack of animal prey. Grizzlybears are starting to be seen more regularlyin the southern parts of the <strong>Hub</strong>, particularlyin ranges like the Sapphires, Flint Creeks, andBoulders where they are known to occupy thenorthern extents of those same ranges.Contrary to grizzly, black bear were describedas occurring throughout the forested landscapesof the <strong>Hub</strong> both east and west of the Divide.Although most biologists described black bearsas able to be almost anywhere in the forestedor montane parkland landscape, their reportsdid indicate a higher occurrence of blacks bearsaround riparian drainages.Lynx occurrence in the <strong>Hub</strong> was mostly limitedto the northern areas between the ContinentalDivide and the western areas. <strong>The</strong>re were someold trapping records that indicated that anoccasional lynx would make it into the isolatedranges east of the Continental Divide, but thisPotter Basin looking southwest to the BridgerRange, photo by Grace Hammond23
appears to be incidental and may be dispersinganimals.Wolves, like black bear, are able to movethroughout the landscape and can surviveanywhere where there are adequate deer andelk populations. General patterns of movementare dispersal eastward from thriving populationsin the central Idaho wilderness west of theBitterroot Valley, and southward dispersal fromthe NCDE throughout the mountains and valleysof the western and central <strong>Hub</strong>. While thereare no physical barriers that prevent wolvesfrom moving east of the Continental Divide intothe northeastern <strong>Hub</strong> region of the Big Belts,Little Belts, Crazies, and Castles, currentlytheir presence is not tolerated socially andtherefore long term pack establishment is notlikely at this point. A separate wolf populationis moving northward out of the GYE and intothe southeastern mountainous complex of theAbsarokas, Gallatins, and Madisons. Conceivably,these GYE wolves could re-populate theBridgers, Castles, Crazies, and Little Belts if thesocial landscape would tolerate their presence.Wolverine are the great distance travelersof the carnivores assessed in this project.Wolverine biologists interviewed stressed thatwolverine could literally move anywhere in thelandscape, and that the greatest factors for longterm survival in this area was conservation oflarge, contiguous expanses of wilderness andlate springtime snowpack. Genetic researchis increasingly showing that dispersal can beexplained by where late springtime snowpackoccurs, typically high elevation, ruggedmountainous country. This same researchindicates that wolverine may be followingthis snowpack in their movements, ratherthan shorter, straight line distances betweenpeaks. Thus, areas of the western <strong>Hub</strong>, likethe Bitterroots and Lost Trail are particularlyimportant for these mesocarnivores becauseof the extent of wilderness and late seasonsnowpack in these areas.Mountain lion movements were described bysome biologists, although this was not oneof the primary species we assessed. <strong>The</strong>sebiologists indicated that lions could be almostanywhere on the landscape where there were24high concentrations of ungulates, regardless ofhabitat type.Elk occur throughout the <strong>Hub</strong>. Elk movementwas described by most biologists as anelevational, seasonal pattern. Multiple herdscould be associated with any given mountainrange, with winter range typically occurring atlower elevations and summer range occurringwithin higher elevations. Elk often usedtraditional routes, often drainages, to movebetween seasonal ranges. In some cases, elkpopulations were becoming static as they stayedon private land with abundant food year-around.All biologists described winter range as theprimary limiting factor for elk; because thiswinter range often occurs in the same placesas human development, long term viability ofcurrent population densities of elk may notbe feasible in places where human populationcontinues to increase.Bighorn sheep occur in areas throughout the<strong>Hub</strong>, but their populations are in much lowernumbers, with an estimated 6,700 animalsstatewide. In the Sapphires, Flint Creek, andAnaconda-Pintler mountains of the western<strong>Hub</strong>, there are several herds functioning as ametapopulation. Herds east of the Flints weremore isolated. Like elk, movements were moreseasonal in nature and more closely tied tospecific habitats-more open grasslands ratherthan forested habitats. <strong>The</strong> strongest limitingfactor for bighorn populations in the <strong>Hub</strong> isthe presence of domestic sheep. Pneumonia,lungworm, and other diseases transmitted fromdomestic sheep to bighorns has led to over 90%mortality of some herds.Pronghorn are strongly associated with lowelevation, sagebrush steppe habitat, and thus,occur in much higher numbers east of theContinental Divide; indeed, some biologistsdescribe the entire Smith and Shields Rivervalleys as one continuous pronghorn habitat.<strong>The</strong>re are isolated populations of pronghorns inthe Philipsburg and Deerlodge Valleys. Like elk,pronghorn move seasonally between summerand winter ranges.Moose were described as occurring throughoutthe <strong>Hub</strong> in low numbers, and strongly associated
- Page 5 and 6: Executive SummaryMaintaining the ec
- Page 7 and 8: Map 1. The Hub Conservation Area ma
- Page 9 and 10: Map 3. Major elk linkages identifie
- Page 12 and 13: Map 6. Major mule deer linkages ide
- Page 14 and 15: Map 8. Major wolf linkages identifi
- Page 16 and 17: Map 10. Major grizzly bear linkages
- Page 18 and 19: For information regarding contents
- Page 20 and 21: American Wildlands’ PriorityLinka
- Page 22 and 23: Georgetown Lake,photo by Grace Hamm
- Page 26 and 27: with mountainous wet meadows and ri
- Page 28 and 29: irds). This step was repeated for c
- Page 30 and 31: Figure 4. Hierarchical breakdown of
- Page 32 and 33: sanitation and conflict issues betw
- Page 34 and 35: Literature ReviewThis review is mea
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- Page 38 and 39: may not provide functional connecti
- Page 40 and 41: available during dispersal, and new
- Page 43 and 44: and desert; this reflects overall a
- Page 45 and 46: Photo by Denver Bryanpopulations. L
- Page 47 and 48: Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus)
- Page 49 and 50: GUIDE TO READINGPRIORITY LINKAGE AS
- Page 51 and 52: Absaroka to CraziesSpeciesGeographi
- Page 53 and 54: BangtailsSpeciesGeographic Boundary
- Page 55 and 56: Bear CreekSpeciesGeographic Boundar
- Page 58 and 59: Big BeltsSpeciesGeographic Boundary
- Page 60 and 61: to disease transmission between dom
- Page 62: sightings in the Birch Creek area.
- Page 65 and 66: Elk move within this linkage for wi
- Page 67: south of the linkage area.Wolverine
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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
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MaxvilleSpeciesGeographic BoundaryT
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Norris HillSpeciesGeographic Bounda
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PipestoneSpeciesGeographic Boundary
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144
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persistent snow pack.Lynx: Boles Cr
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Potter BasinSpeciesGeographic Bound
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150
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Mountain goats exist in small pocke
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Rocky Mountain Front to Big BeltMou
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Disease between bighorn sheep and d
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the linkage, grizzly bear forage in
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influencing how wildlife connectivi
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Several bighorn sheep herds form am
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Silver StarSpeciesGeographic Bounda
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166
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controlled. In recent years, approx
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esulting from livestock depredation
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StickneySpeciesGeographic BoundaryT
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SulaSpeciesGeographic BoundaryThe S
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Tom Miner to Mill CreekSpeciesGeogr
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178
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development. Subdivision, fencing a
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Townsend from 1000 to 300 animals.
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These appear to be important for gr
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Other existing packs include the Wo
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Creek and the Boulder River south o
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192
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Harestad A.S., and F.L. Bunnell. 19
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Trakhtenbrot, A. R. Nathan, G. Perr
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Appendix 1 (cont.).Table 1Mammals o
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Appendix 2 (cont.).Table 2Home Rang
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Appendix 3 (cont.).Table 3Migration
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Appendix 4 (cont.).Table 4Dispersal
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Appendix 5 (cont.).Studies Demonstr
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American Wildlands ~ Winter 2008