The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

wolverine habitat.Lynx are present in very small numbers onHogback Mountain. The lynx habitat in thislinkage area is marginal.Elk thrive on good summertime forage habitatin the Big Belts. Elk Ridge and Jim Ball Basinare examples of summer range, composed ofvery productive, high quality habitat with alot of open grasslands. The west slopes of theBig Belts have several important winter rangeareas, such as White’s Creek and Deep Creek.The White’s Creek- White Gulch- ConfederateGulch to Duck Creek area is a distinct winterrange on private land. Elk migrate up the westslope winter range to summer on the Big BeltDivide at the head of Rock Creek and BeaverCreek. Elk at the Cottonwood Creek and RayCreek winter range are the southernmost elkherd in this linkage area. Elk also winter onthe east side of the Big Belts, particularly alongthe flanks of the mountains near Birch Creek.Pronghorn are found at Canyon Ferry to DeepCreek and from East Helena to Canyon Ferryduring the winter, spring, and fall. East ofCanyon Ferry, there is a herd of about 600antelope that are doing well on agriculturallands.Moose in this linkage area are found around thelower drainages of all the 2nd and 3rd orderstreams around Townsend. The Big Belts aredry habitat and therefore not “prime” moosehabitat. Moose can be found in the southwestBig Belts in the north fork of Deep Creek. Other“moosey” areas of this linkage are in CabinGulch, Sulphur Bar, and Hay Creek. On the eastside of the Big Belts, moose can be found inthe Gypsy Lake, Birch Creek and Camas Creekareas.Mountain goats were transplanted in thismountain range from the Sleeping Giant areafollowing a population die-off from pneumonia.Mountain goats can be found primarily in foursubpopulations located in the Beaver Creek,Avalanche-Hellgate, Boulder-Baldy, and Mt.Edith areas with scattered individuals foundelsewhere. The goats tend to come down tothe lower flat areas of the linkage during springgreen-up.58Mule deer can be found throughout the BigBelts, with important winter range in theWhite Creek area. Conversely, this is also animportant area for mountain lions, whoseprimary prey are mule deer.Conservation ThreatsDevelopment: Most of Jim Ball Basin is privateland. Within this linkage area, much of theungulate winter range is on private land. Iftheses lands were to be developed, it wouldnegatively impact the elk and mule deerpopulations.Recreation: the area between Trout Creek andMagpie Gulch is a bottleneck for wildlife dueto the high amount of motorized recreation inthe area. Avalanche Creek, which is importantfor mountain goats, is another high-use area formotorized recreation.Highways are a threat due to the fragmentationof habitat from both the roads and associateddevelopment, and from direct animal-vehiclecollisions. The Hellgate area on the east sideof Canyon Ferry is a hotspot for elk collisionson Highway 284. U.S. Highway 12 also crossesthe south end of the Big Belts and is a potentialsource of collisions and fragmentation.Loss of Access: Increasingly, access to publicand private lands is becoming more restricted.This leads to “privatization” of wildlife and aloss of ability for Montana Fish, Wildlife andParks to meet their target numbers for wildpopulations. In this linkage area, the White’sCreek- White Gulch- Confederate Gulch toDuck Creek elk winter range is on private land;Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is no longerable to manage this herd.Noxious Weeds, particularly Dalmatian toadflax,Spotted Knapweed, and Leafy Spurge, are a bigissue. Their presence is negatively affectingungulate forage in grasslands and meadows.Fire suppression in the area has led to coniferencroachment, which is causing a loss ofvaluable montane parkland habitat. This couldeventually lead to a catastrophic fire.Disease: The mountain goat population hadto be transplanted after an initial die-off due