The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

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CheckerboardSpeciesGeographic BoundaryThis linkage area encompasses the areabetween the Little Belt Mountains andthe Castle Mountains from White SulphurSprings to the Checkerboard area. Thewestern edge is at the Park Hills andWhite Sulphur Springs. The northernedge follows the forest boundary to theeastern edge near Checkerboard. Thesouthern edge follows the forest boundaryof the Castle Mountains.Importance of Linkage AreaThis linkage area provides connectivityfor local north-south movement betweenthe Little Belt and Castle Mountains.It also provides east-west movementalong the Musselshell River corridor fromthe center of this linkage area east toHarlowtown.This linkage provides connectivity forwildlife moving east-west from the BigBelt Mountains through the Smith RiverValley to the highest elevations in theLittle Belt Mountains via the north forkof the Smith River. It also connects theLittle Belt and Crazy Mountains. Thiscould therefore, be one of the linkagesthat potentially connects the GreaterYellowstone Ecosystem (south) with theRocky Mountain Front (northwest).Mountain ranges connected in thislinkage: Little Belt Mountains, CastleMountains, Crazy Mountains.Ecological SettingThis linkage occupies the southernfoothills of the Little Belt Mountainsnortheast of White Sulphur Springs.Open sagebrush (Artemisia tridentataspp.) and native grasslands dominate theuplands with numerous riparian stringerstributary to the uppermost headwatersof the Smith River and the Musselshell73River. The large wet meadow complexeson the floodplain of the Smith Riverand on several other tributaries are themost striking features of this linkage.Scattered stands of Rocky Mountainjuniper (Juniperus scopulorum) andlimber pine (Pinus flexilis) are foundon some ridges in the area. Douglas-fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii) and lodgepolepine (P. contorta) habitat increases withelevation further to the north. Significanttimber harvest and road developmenthas occurred in the northern part of thelinkage. Irrigated hay fields and pasturehave been developed in most of the largeriparian areas, in some places replacingthe native willow (Salix spp.) ripariancommunities. Highways 89 and 12 passthrough the linkage with numerous otherranch roads present. A few residencesand ranches are scattered in the linkage,mostly adjacent to hay lands and pasturealong the river tributaries. Elevation inthe linkage ranges from about 5,100 feetto over 8,000 feet.WildlifeCheckerboard is a unique area withvery large ranches and abundant winterrange.Bald eagles nest on Lake Sutherlin, justoutside of White Sulphur Springs, andthere are wintering bald eagles fromWhite Sulphur Springs to Harlowton,primarily along the Mussellshell River.Black bears are found in both the LittleBelt Mountains and Castle Mountains; theyuse this linkage area to move betweenthe ranges.Wolverine: The Little Belt Mountainwolverines are of the same mitochondrialline as the Crazy Mountains, which impliesmovement between them. Biologistssuggest that the same wolverines could
e using the Little Belt Mountains, CastleMountains, and Crazy Mountains as a homerange.Wolves have been reported in both the LittleBelt and Castle Mountains. This area providespotential linkage between the two mountainranges.There is an important elk winter range northof Highway 12 between the Park Hills andVolcano Butte. There is another winter rangesouth of Highway 12 on the north side of theCastle Mountains between Willow Creek andCheckerboard Creek. There are several hundredelk in this winter range. Many of these same elksummer in the Little Belt Mountains. Several elkcalving areas are also located in this linkage.Moose are seen along the north fork of theSmith River.Pronghorn: At White Sulphur Springs alongthe east and west side of Highway 89 there ispronghorn winter range. This area has goodsagebrush habitat. There is general pronghornmovement between White Sulphur Springs andCheckerboard across open prairie land. Theyfrequently move north-south across Highway 12.Volcano Butte sage grouse lek is within thislinkage on private land. There are about 12male sage grouse currently using this lek but thepopulation has declined over the last 40 years.the next ten years.Highways: Elk move between the Park Hills andButler Hill across Highway 89. Elk also moveacross Highway 12. There is an increasing risk ofanimal-vehicle collisions, but currently trafficvolumes are low.Conservation OpportunitiesElk are tolerated by landowners in this areaand they own very large ranches that are wellused for winter range. Opportunities exist forconservation easements in the future.The Volcano Butte sage grouse lek is on privateland and there may be opportunity to preventthe further decline of the sage grousepopulation.Conservation ThreatsDevelopment is limited in this area.Hunting access is a concern in portions of thislinkage area.Conflict occurs between cattle and elk, whichcompete for grazing. There are also domesticsheep allotments near this corridor, whichincreases the risk of livestock-carnivore conflict.Landowner tolerance for wolves is expected to below in this area.Disease: In the Studhorse Creek area there is ahigh concentration of beetle killed trees.Energy Development: Though there is noproposal project yet, wind power on Highway 12is a threat because of high windfield potential.Power lines could impact corridors here within74
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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
Page 22 and 23: Georgetown Lake,photo by Grace Hamm
Page 24 and 25: Beaverhead Mountains to the south,
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
Page 36 and 37: that this impediment is deleterious
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
Page 70 and 71: ange for about 200 elk, and the Spr
Page 72: winter range is private land on the
Page 78 and 79: Front south along the Continental D
Page 80 and 81: Clinton to DrummondSpeciesGeographi
Page 82 and 83: There has been a settlement with At
Page 84 and 85: Mountain Goats: The highest density
Page 86 and 87: suspected in very low levels, even
Page 88: dispersal corridor for all of these
Page 91 and 92: the area. Hunting access in general
Page 93 and 94: with the Elkhorns.Wolverines are kn
Page 96 and 97: FleecerSpeciesGeographic BoundaryFl
Page 98 and 99: negotiated grazing agreements on th
Page 100 and 101: traffic volumes are increasing sign
Page 102 and 103: pack in the linkage. The large size
Page 104 and 105: Garnets to BouldersSpeciesGeographi
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Page 108 and 109: persistent spring snow and may be k
Page 110 and 111: Garnets. The Clark Fork River Corri
Page 112 and 113: Horseshoe HillsSpeciesGeographic Bo
Page 114 and 115: Hound CreekSpeciesGeographic Bounda
Page 116 and 117: Jefferson SloughSpeciesGeographic B
Page 118 and 119: 117
Page 120 and 121: Willow packs moved here from the po
Page 122: 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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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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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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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
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The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

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