The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

Castles to CraziesSpeciesGeographic BoundaryThis linkage area encompasses the entireCastle Mountains south to the northfoothills of the Crazy Mountains. Thewestern edge follows the west slope ofthe Castle Mountains south across Hwy294. The eastern edge abuts WhetstoneRidge and heads south to the east of thetown of Lennep.Importance of Linkage AreaThis linkage area provides connectivityfor local ungulate movement from thefoothills into the higher elevations of theCastle Mountains. There is also northsouthmovement across Hwy 294 from theCastle Mountains to the Crazy Mountains.On a larger scale, this linkage areaconnects the Castles Mountains and theCrazy Mountains, which could potentiallyconnect animal movement from theGreater Yellowstone Ecosystem to thesouth, and the Big Belt Mountains and theRocky Mountain Front to the northwest.Mountain ranges connected in thislinkage: Castle Mountains, CrazyMountains.Ecological SettingThe Castle Mountains occupy the northernhalf of this linkage, while the foothillsin the southern half are situated in anextensive set of parallel rocky reefsand open ridges. The Castles containthe uppermost headwaters of the southfork of the Musselshell River. Theyare forested mostly with Douglas-fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii) and lodgepolepine (Pinus contorta). The foothillareas support sagebrush grasslands withscattered patches of ponderosa pine,and Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperusscoluporum) and limber pine (P. flexilis)on drier sites. Some timber harvest has70occurred around the perimeter of theCastles, particularly in the western part,with a moderate density road network.The core has sustained no timber harvestor roading, and habitat is intact. Riparianareas are smaller in this linkage, and hayproduction in those areas occurs at asmaller scale in the upper South Fork ofthe Musselshell River than further to theeast. Highway 294 bisects the linkagealong the South Fork Musselshell. Severalother main roads and ranch roads arepresent. Elevations in this linkage rangefrom about 5,200 feet to over 8,000.WildlifeGrizzly: Currently there are no grizzlybears within this linkage area althoughthere are consistent reports of them inthe Crazy Mountains to the south. In thenorth Castle Mountains there are a fewspringtime sedge meadows that blackbears use. To the south, black bears usenarrow, riparian corridors between theCastles and the Crazy Mountains that runinto the South Fork of the MusselshellRiver. Black bears are seen regularly in thecommunity of Lennep.Wolverines: This narrow corridor betweenranges is also a wolverine movementarea. The wolverines in the Little Beltsare of the same mitochondrial line as theCrazy Mountains, which implies movementbetween the mountains. Biologists suggestthat the same wolverines could possiblybe using the Little Belt Mountains, CastleMountains, and Crazy Mountains as ahome range. The Castle Mountains mayprovide linkage “stepping stone” for othertransient animals like the lynx, thoughnone are documented here.Elk: Currently, around 1100 elk use theentire foothills surrounding the CastleMountains for winter range. Most of the