Wildlife of the Gallatin Mountains, Southcentral Montana

Prepared for The Wilderness Society

by Steven Gehman

Wild Things Unlimited

Bozeman, Montana

December 2010

(Grizzly Bear section updated May 2012)

Table of Contents page Introduction 1 Acknowledgements 2 Ungulates 3 Elk 3 Bighorn Sheep 7 Mountain Goat 9 Other Ungulates 13 Carnivores 14 Grizzly Bear 14 Black Bear 18 Gray Wolf 18 Wolverine 20 Lynx 23 Fisher 24 Other Carnivores 26 Birds, Amphibians, Fish, Reptiles, and Other Mammals 27 References Cited 29 Personal Communications Cited 30 Tables 31

List of Tables and Figures

page

Table 1. Information related to elk herd units in the Gallatin Mountains. 31 Table 2. Sources and numbers of bighorn sheep and mountain goat observations for 32 the Gallatin Mountains, 1980-2010. Table 3. Numbers and types of grizzly bear sightings in Tom Miner Basin, by year, 33 from two study periods (1984-1988 and 2006-2008). Table 4. Summary of WTU bear survey results for the Gallatin Mountains, 2006-2009. 34 Table 5. Summary of WTU wolverine detection data for the Gallatin Mountains, 35 1997-2008. Table 6. Summary of WTU carnivore detection data from nine winters of surveys 36 in the Gallatin Mountains, 1997-2008. Table 7. Species Of Concern that are present or could be present in the Gallatin 37 Mountains. Figure 1. Approximate winter ranges of elk herds in the Gallatin Range, 2010. 6 Figure 2. Areas where bighorn sheep and mountain goats have been observed in 12 the Gallatin Mountains, 1980-2010. Figure 3. Locations of confirmed grizzly bear hair samples and tracks documented in 17 the Gallatin Mountains, by Wild Things Unlimited, 2006-2009. Figure 4. Areas of wolverine and lynx activity in the Gallatin Mountains, documented by Wild Things Unlimited (1998-2008) and Gallatin National Forest (1994-1997). 25

Introduction The Gallatin Mountains have long been a critical component of wildlife conservation in Montana. When trappers and explorers moved westward following the Lewis and Clark Expedition, it not only marked the beginning of the great fur trade era, but also ushered in a massive westward expansion that would eventually result in severe degradation of wildlife habitat and exploitation of native wildlife species. Activities such as trapping, hide hunting, market hunting (primarily for miners and railroad workers), subsistence hunting, and livestock grazing left Montanas wildlife decimated by the late 1800s. As populations of large animals were extirpated from many areas of Montana and the West, the Gallatin Range remained a stronghold for numerous species. In 1910, the Gallatin Range was one of two areas in Montana that still had elk populations; in 1942 it was one of 15 areas of Montana that still had small populations of bighorn sheep and it was one of the four major areas in the State that still had moose (Picton and Lonner, 2008). In effect, the Gallatin Range served as a natural wildlife refuge because of its relatively large size (approx. 75 miles long and 20 miles wide), its relatively diverse and high quality wildlife habitat, its geographic location (approximately one-half of the range is inside Yellowstone National Park [YNP] and one-half is outside), and its relatively low level of human development (approx. one-half million acres of roadless land). Since the establishment of laws to protect wildlife inside of YNP, the Park has served as a source of wildlife to naturally stock adjacent mountain ranges, and the Gallatin Range has provided an ideal pathway into excellent habitat.

The combination of a wide range of elevations, aspects, and moisture regimes has created a diverse mixture of non-forested and forested habitat types in the Gallatin Mountains that are appealing to a wide variety of wildlife species. Today the Gallatin Range is home to most Rocky Mountain species of ungulates and carnivores, as well as numerous species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians that are considered to be Species of Concern by the State of Montana and animals of interest in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In this report I have compiled information related to some of those species that have particular importance and interest for land and wildlife management agencies and the conservation community.

2

Aside from providing spectacular habitat for its wildlife residents, another value of the Gallatin Range is the role it plays in maintaining habitat connectivity for wide-ranging wildlife species such as wolverine, lynx, grizzly bear, mountain lion, wolf, and elk. The Gallatin Range represents the northern reaches of core wildlife habitat within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and the northern end of the Range forms a linkage to a major wildlife corridor that connects the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. The Gallatin-Bridger-Big Belt Corridor was determined to be one of two primary least-cost routes for wildlife to travel between these two ecosystems by Craighead Environmental Research Institute, and has been a focus of American Wildlands and their Corridors of Life program. Data sources that I have drawn upon for this report include: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Gallatin National Forest, Montana State University, and studies that I have been involved in as a consulting biologist and as a co-founder and employee of Wild Things Unlimited, Inc. For purposes of discussing distribution patterns for various wildlife species, I have subdivided the Gallatin Range outside of YNP into three regions or zones, as follows: northern, the area north of Storm Castle and Fridley Creeks; central, the area between Storm Castle-Fridley Creeks and Portal-Big Creeks; and southern, the area south of Portal-Big Creeks to the Yellowstone National Park boundary. Acknowledgements I thank the many people who provided information and input for this report, including: Julie Cunningham, Claire Gower, Kelly Proffitt, and Mike Vaughn from Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; Tom Lemke, retired MFWP biologist; Dr. Robert Garrott and Mike Sawaya of Montana State University; Dr. Chuck Schwartz and Mark Haroldson from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team; Dr. Harold Picton, Professor Emeritus from MSU; and Joe Gutkoski, former U.S. Forest Service employee and local outdoorsman. Mike Porco served as a wildlife biologist for Wild Things Unlimited for four years, and assisted in collection of data used in this report. I also thank my wife, and co-founder of Wild Things Unlimited, Betsy Robinson, for her many contributions to the WTU projects referenced in this report. Funding for the preparation of this report was provided by The Wilderness Society.

3

Wildlife of the Gallatin Mountains

Ungulates

ELK

In 1910, the southern end of the Gallatin Range was part of one of the two areas in Montana that still had elk populations (Picton and Lonner, 2008), after subsistence, market, and hide hunting nearly eliminated elk from the United States in the 1800s. The extension of the Gallatin Mountains northward from Yellowstone National Park was likely the main reason for this situation, as approximately one half of the 50,000 elk estimated to exist in North America at the time were thought to be in YNP, Jackson Hole, and the surrounding areas (MFWP, 2004). The remoteness of YNP was a major factor in the preservation of elk in North America, and the southern Gallatin Mountains and the Gallatin Canyon provided habitat for some of the last remaining elk that would provide the bridge from near-extermination to renewed abundance. An aggressive elk transplant program occurred in Montana from 1910 through the 1990s, and by 2004 an estimated 130,000 to 160,000 elk were distributed over all of the forested mountainous areas of western and central Montana (MFWP, 2004). For elk management purposes, the MFWP includes the Gallatin Range with the Madison Range in the 3,006 square-mile Gallatin-Madison Elk Management Unit. The Gallatin Mountains include all or part of four Region 3 hunting districts: HD 301 is composed of the western side of the Range north of Eaglehead Mountain, to the Gallatin River; HD309 includes the far northeastern part of the Range, or Gallatin Face, from Cottonwood to Sourdough to Fort Ellis to Bear Canyon [also includes portions of the Gallatin Valley west and northwest of Bozeman]; HD 310 includes the western side of the Range south of Eaglehead Mountain [also includes the Taylor Fork of the Gallatin River, in the Madison Mountains]; and HD 314 is composed of the eastern side of the Gallatin Range, to the Yellowstone River.

4

Elk are common throughout the Gallatin Mountains, and MFWP has delineated nine elk herd units, based primarily upon their somewhat distinct wintering areas (Table 1, Fig. 1): the Gallatin Face herd unit on the far northern end of the Gallatin Range, the Swan Creek and Porcupine herd units on the west side of the Range, and six herd units on the east side of the Range, including Wineglass to West Pine Creek, We