Park County Wildlife

Home , Beartooth Mountains, Bozeman Pass, Crazy Mountains, Dome Mountain (Wyoming), Electric Peak, Emigrant Peak

Park County, montana Living with People and Wildlife

Park County Wildlife Elliston Unionville White Sulphur Springs Montana City Clancy Winston Martinsdale Hedgesville Harlowton Corbin Lennep Twodot Jefferson City Franklin wildlife overview TownsendThe Shields Valley Shawmut Basin Barber Ringling CushmanLavina Boulder CRAZY MOUNTAINS Ryegate Belmont Park County is located in southwest Montana where “the mountains meet the prairie.” Radersburg The unique combination of large fertile valleys, major continental mountain ranges, a Toston er 2 4 iv significant island mountain range (Crazy Mountains), and the beginning of the eastern R s

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e Broadview prairie grassland provides a variety of wildlife habitats. i 1 h Melville S 5 Cottonwood Reservoir 2 Wilsall Pk X Remarkably, Park County supports a complete component of all the large species of wildlife 6 Eustis BRIDGER RANGE 10,581’ 3 X Crazy Pk Comanche The Shields Valley is the largest Wilsall that were present when Lewis and Clark first stepped foot in Montana in 1805. All 12 species Trident 11,209’ Rapelje Elliston Unionville White Sulphur Springs Janney valley in Park County and of ungulates and majorMontana predatorsCity still occur. Not all species are easy to see, however in the Clancy Winston 2 Martinsdale Hedgesville Whitehall expands north alongLogan US Hwy 89 Clyde Park Harlowton Cardwell right place and time of the year Twodot Three Forks Corbin Lennep and includes the ShieldsManhattan River, 5 Molt Jefferson City Franklin Big Timber white-tailed deer, mule deer, Townsend Shawmut Basin Barber SappingtonCrazy Mountains, Bangtail Ringling CushmanLavina r elk, antelope,Boulder bighorn sheep and v e CRAZY MOUNTAINS Ryegate Mountains, and the vast rollingBelgrade 2 i Belmont 4 e R Greycliff Radersburg t on bison are often viewed from theToston low s er Waterloo hills north towards Ringling. l iv e R Silver Star Harrison Y s

d l roads. If you’re lucky you may e Broadview i h Melville McLeod Reed Point Shields VaS lley Bozeman Cottonwood Pony Total area is approximately Livingston also spot black bear, moose, Reservoir Wilsall Pk X Columbus Eustis BRIDGER RANGE Wilsall 10,581’ X Crazy Pk Comanche 11,209’ Rapelje 690 square miles, ranging from wolfJanney or some other interestingTrident Gallatin Whitehall Logan Clyde Park 4,550 feet to 10,578 feet (Crazy Cardwell Three Forks Norris Gateway wildlife species. Manhattan Twin BridgesMolt Big Timber Sappington Peak) in elevation and includes r e Absarokee i v Belgrade R ne Greycliff s t o Waterloo low approximately 1,500 residents. I-90 Corridor el This richSilver Star wildlife resourceHarrison and Y McLeod Reed Point Sheridan Pony Bozeman Livingston Columbus McAllister our open vistas help define Fishtail Gallatin Montana.Twin BridgesBoth Park CountyNorris Gateway Absarokee 1 The Shields Valley supports an unusually EmigrantThroughPrayout the Sheridan Paradise Valley JeffersEnnis B EA R TO O TH R A N G E Roberts residents and visitors enjoyMcAllister Fishtail Alder and are greatly enriched from high concentration of golden eagles. shieldsChico Valley: Emigrant Pray Virginia City Hot Springs JeffersEnnis B EA R TO O TH R A N G E Roberts Big GALLATIN RANGE Alder Chico X diverse and healthyVirginia wildlife City Hot Springs 2 Big GALLATIN RANGE X One of the best preservedSky native · BighornEmigrant sheep Pk do not currently inhabit Sky Emigrant Pk Dome Mountain Dome Mountain 10,921’ 10,921’ populations. Studies haveCameron shown Wildlife Refuge Wildlife Refuge r Miner YellowstoneCameron cutthroat trout populations the Crazy or Bridger Mountains. e r v Miner

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t Y ABSAROKA RANGE wildlife populations and · s Excellent moose habitat occurs along the

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Gardiner Montana One of the largest mountain goat Shieldsl Corwin River Springs and tributaries, and moose can 12,799’

habitats are important factors in e Mammoth Y West Wyoming determining the “quality of life” Yellowstone populations (Crazy Mountains) in the often be seenJardine from the road during winter. Silver Cooke in a particular area. Yellowstone lower 48 United States, with excellent City National Gardiner· Home to a small remnantMontana sage grouseGate Park viewing opportunities from many Ralston population,Mammoth a species of concern backcountry trails. West Wyoming Lakeview Yellowstone throughout the western United States. Monida 4 Lake Largest antelope population in the county Yellowstone Humphrey Cody Big Springs Pahaska Tepee Old Faithful Wapiti ranging from 1,500-2,000 antelope. Island Park National Kilgore West Thumb Spencer Idmon 5 Elk population of over 5,000, with Park the majority occurring on the west side Ralston of the valley. Lakeview Monida 6 Cottonwood Reservoir (and other wetlands) provide important staging, Lake Humphrey Cody resting, and viewing areas forBig Springsmigratory Pahaska Tepee waterfowl and shorebirds. Old Faithful Wapiti Island Park Kilgore West Thumb Spencer Idmon

Park County, Montana - Living with People and Wildlife Wildlife Overview Elliston Unionville White Sulphur Springs Montana City Clancy Winston Martinsdale Hedgesville Harlowton Corbin Lennep Twodot Jefferson City Franklin wildlife overview TownsendThe Shields Valley Shawmut Basin Barber Ringling CushmanLavina Boulder CRAZY MOUNTAINS Ryegate Belmont Park County is located in southwest Montana where “the mountains meet the prairie.” Radersburg The unique combination of large fertile valleys, major continental mountain ranges, a Toston er 2 4 iv significant island mountain range (Crazy Mountains), and the beginning of the eastern R s

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n Red Lodge v o

Gardinert Basin ABSAROKA RANGE i

that the presence of thriving s

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in the state. o

l Corwin Springs 12,799’ n e Red Lodge

Silver Gate o

t Y ABSAROKA RANGE wildlife populations and · s Excellent moose habitat occurs along the

Jardine

Silver Cooke w Granite Pk X

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Gardiner Montana One of the largest mountain goat Shieldsl Corwin River Springs and tributaries, and moose can 12,799’

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e Broadview i Elliston Unionville White Sulphur Springs h Melville S Montana City Cottonwood Clancy Winston Reservoir Wilsall Pk X Eustis BRIDGER RANGE Wilsall 10,581’ X Crazy Pk Comanche Martinsdale Hedgesville 11,209’ Rapelje Janney Harlowton Trident Corbin Lennep Twodot Jefferson City Whitehall Franklin Logan Clyde Park Cardwell Three Forks Townsend Shawmut Manhattan Molt Barber Big Timber Basin Sappington Lavina Ringling Cushman r the i-90 corridor paradise valley e Boulder i v CRAZY MOUNTAINS Ryegate Belgrade R ne Greycliff Belmont s t o Waterloo low Radersburg el Toston Silver Star Harrison Y er McLeod Reed Point iv Pony Bozeman Livingston R s Columbus

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e Broadview i h Melville Gallatin S Cottonwood Twin Bridges Norris Gateway 1 Reservoir Wilsall Pk X Absarokee Eustis BRIDGER RANGE 10,581’ Comanche The I-90 Corridor is the area Wilsall X Crazy Pk Paradise Valley includes Trident 11,209’ Sheridan Rapelje Janney adjacent to 1-90 running from the area McAllistereast and west along Fishtail Whitehall the top of the LoganBozeman Pass Clyde Park the Yellowstone River from Cardwell Three Forks and continues throughManhattan towards Livingston running southMolt 4 Emigrant Pray Big Timber JeffersEnnis B EA R TO O TH R A N G E Roberts BigSappington Timber. It includes portions Alder towards Tom Minor Basin Chico r e Virginia City i v Hot Springs of the Gallatin Range, BangtailBelgrade R and includes portions of theBig GALLATIN RANGE ne Greycliff 3 X s t o Waterloo Mountains, Absaroka Beartooth low Absaroka Beartooth MountainsSky Emigrant Pk el 2 Dome Mountain 3 Silver Star Harrison Y 2 10,921’ Mountains and Crazy Mountains. 2 andCameron Gallatin Range. Wildlife Refuge 2 McLeod Reed Point r Miner Pony Bozeman Livingston e 3 v

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Norris465 square miles, ranging 500 square miles, ranging 3 l

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from 4,550 feet to 9,314 feet from 4,500 feet to 10,921 feet Y Absarokee Jardine in elevation, and includes (Emigrant Peak) in elevation, Silver Cooke Sheridan Gate City approximatelyMcAllister 10,000 residents and includes approximately Gardiner Montana Fishtail (including the city of Livingston). 2,100 residents. Mammoth West Wyoming Emigrant Pray Yellowstone JeffersEnnis B EA R TO O TH R A N G E Roberts Alder Chico Yellowstone Virginia1 City Hot Springs 1 The Livingston area isBig the home of GALLATIN ThRANGErouXghout the I-90 Corridor: home to a large resident population of ThroughNationalout the Sky Emigrant Pk a large year-round resident CanadaDome goose Mountain 10,921’ 3,000-4,000+ elk, the majority on the west paradise Valley: Cameron Wildlife Refuge · Major human population and development Park population of several hundred birds. r Miner side of the valley in the Gallatin Range. e v

i area in Park County adjacent to the free · Several wolf packs use Paradise Valley Ralston

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Several pairs of bald eagles nest along this s flowing Yellowstone River. The state-owned 4,600 acre Dome and adjacent mountains to include some

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l Corwin Springs 12,799’ stretch of the Yellowstone River and lower e MountainLakeview Wildlife Management Area packs that move back and forth between

· NorthernY boundary of expanding grizzly Monida Shields River. Jardine is located at the southern end of the valley Yellowstone National Park and Montana. Silver Cooke bear distribution, no confirmed grizzly City near Dailey Lake. This area provides Lake 3 Gardiner Montana Gate Humphrey Cody Seasonally, black bears, mountain lions bear sightings north of I-90 as of yet. critical winter range for up to 2,000 Bigof the Springs · Moose also occur in small numbers in Pahaska Tepee Mammoth and moose are seen within theWest city limits Wyoming appropriateOld habitats Faithful in many drainages. Wapiti Yellowstone · From west to east this corridor is a migratory Northern YellowstoneIsland elk Park herd. of Livingston. Kilgore West Thumb Yellowstone transition zone from the Rocky Mountains Spencer 3 Idmon grizzly bear numbers are increasing on toNational the eastern prairies. both sides of the valley with prime grizzly Park habitat from Six-mile Creek to Mill Creek and from Tom Miner Basin to RalstonBig Creek. grizzly bear density decreases going north Lakeview up to I-90. Monida 4 Lake Small numbers of rare wolverines and Humphrey lynx (mid-sized carnivores)Cody occur in the Big Springs Pahaska Tepee Old Faithful AbsarokaWapiti and Gallatin Mountains on Island Park Kilgore West Thumb each side of the valley. Spencer Idmon

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Norris465 square miles, ranging 500 square miles, ranging 3 l

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i area in Park County adjacent to the free · Several wolf packs use Paradise Valley Ralston

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Several pairs of bald eagles nest along this s flowing Yellowstone River. The state-owned 4,600 acre Dome and adjacent mountains to include some

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l Corwin Springs 12,799’ stretch of the Yellowstone River and lower e MountainLakeview Wildlife Management Area packs that move back and forth between

Park County, Montana - Living with People and Wildlife Wildlife Overview Elliston Unionville White Sulphur Springs Elliston Unionville White Sulphur Springs Montana City Montana City Clancy Winston Clancy Winston Martinsdale Hedgesville Martinsdale Hedgesville Harlowton Corbin Lennep Twodot Twodot Harlowton Corbin Lennep Jefferson City Franklin Jefferson City Townsend Franklin Shawmut Townsend Basin Shawmut Barber Barber Ringling CushmanLavina Basin Boulder Lavina Ringling Cushman CRAZY MOUNTAINS Ryegate Boulder Belmont CRAZY MOUNTAINS Radersburg Ryegate Belmont Radersburg Toston er Toston iv er R v s

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l h Melville e BroadviewS i Cottonwood h Melville S Reservoir Cottonwood Wilsall Pk X Reservoir Wilsall Pk X Eustis BRIDGER RANGE Wilsall 10,581’ X Crazy Pk Comanche Eustis BRIDGER RANGE Wilsall 10,581’ X Crazy Pk Trident Comanche 11,209’ Rapelje Janney 11,209’ Rapelje Janney Trident Whitehall Logan Cardwell Clyde Park Whitehall Logan Three Forks Cardwell Clyde Park Manhattan Molt Three Forks Molt Big Timber Manhattan Sappington Big Timber r e Sappington i v r Belgrade R e ne Greycliff i v s t o Belgrade Waterloo R low gardiner basin ne Greycliff cooke city/silverel gate Silver Star s t o Harrison Y Waterloo low el Silver Star Harrison Y McLeod Reed Point Pony Bozeman Livingston McLeod Reed Point Pony Bozeman Livingston Columbus Columbus Gallatin Gallatin Twin Bridges Norris Gateway Norris Twin Bridges Gateway Absarokee Absarokee Sheridan McAllister Sheridan Fishtail The GardinerMcAllister Basin includes the area north and south TheFishtail Cooke City/Silver Gate Emigrant Pray along Yankee Jim Canyon, the JeffersEnnis area includes the communities B EA R TO O TH R A N G E Roberts Emigrant Pray Alder JeffersEnnis B EA R TO O TH R A N G E Roberts Chico Alder community of Gardiner and Chico Virginia City of Silver Gate and Cooke City Hot Springs Virginia City Big GALLATIN RANGE X Jardine, and the area adjacent Hot Springs Skyand the northeast portion Big GALLATIN RANGE X Dome Mountain Emigrant Pk to Yellowstone River andSky of Yellowstone National Park, 10,921’ Dome Mountain Emigrant Pk Cameron Wildlife Refuge 10,921’ r Miner the north entrance to Wildlife Refuge running east towards Sunlighte v Cameron i

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v e Yellowstone National Park. Basin and the Beartoothn Pass. Red Lodge

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e 265 square miles, ranging Y 170 square miles, ranging Jardine 5 Silver Cooke 1 1 Jardine City from 4,900 feet to 10,969 feet Silver Cooke from 7,300 feet to 11,163 feet Gate 5 4 City Gardiner Montana (Electric Peak) in elevation, Gardiner Montana Gate (Mount Rosebud) in elevation, West Mammoth and includes approximately Mammoth and includes approximately Wyoming 1,200 residents. West Wyoming Yellowstone 100 residents. Yellowstone Yellowstone Yellowstone National 1 This area contains critical/high density 5 gardinerNational Basin supports a healthy · This area contains important summerPark of elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer. winter range habitat for a variety of grizzly bearPark population. Grizzlies have and winter range for a significant moose Antelope do not occur in this area. Ralston wildlife providing outstanding and been observed in all areas of Gardiner population and is perhaps the best place Ralstonto unique opportunities to view large Basin, with most frequent sightings in observe moose in Park County. · This area is also well known for grizzly Lakeview and black bear activity. The narrow valley numbersLakeview of elk, bison, mule deer, Beattie Gulch, SphinxMonida Creek and Monida antelope and bighorn sheep. Eagle Creek. · Cooke City and Silver Gate are small corridorLake of Soda Butte Creek places people HumphreyLake high elevation mountain communities and bears in close proximity and in Cody Big Springs Pahaska Tepee Humphrey 2 Cody due to large numbers of wildlife alongBig Springs Pahaska Tepeesurrounded by designated wildernessOld Faithful areas potential encounter situations. Wapiti US Hwy 89 drivers are urged to use Old Faithful Kilgore that supportIsland Park goodWapiti numbers of bighorn Island Park West· The Thumb high elevation forests in this area cautionKilgore to avoid wildlife collisions, WestSpencer Thumb Idmon sheep and mountain goats. Spencer Idmonespecially through Yankee Jim Canyon support several species of furbearers where Bighorn Sheep are often close to · The high elevation forested habitat provides including pine marten, bobcat, wolverines, the road. summer habitat for small populations red fox and weasels. 3 Bighorn sheep can often be observed during the fall breeding season (November-December) from the road at the base of Cinnabar Mountain, across the river from Corwin Springs. 4 gardiner Basin contains healthy Yellowstone cutthroat trout populations in the river and important spawning habitat in several tributaries including Mol Herin Creek.

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Total area is approximately o Total area is approximately Y

3l Corwin Springs 12,799’

Park County, Montana - Living with People and Wildlife Wildlife Overview Wildlife need places to live. If we are to guarantee that present and future generations continue to enjoy the benefits of diverse wildlife resources we need to provide and protect healthy habitats for them to use on private and public lands. It is important for everyone to consider wildlife and wildlife habitat in land planning activities and in our everyday lives. We need to find a balance between human activities and wildlife.

To accomplish that balance we all need to better understand our wildlife resources and what wildlife need to thrive in Park County. The best outcomes will be achieved when people get actively involved in public discussions and decisions and take measures to ensure wildlife and people can continue to co-exist. Montana has often been called the “Last Best Place” and our diverse wildlife heritage is a big part of that accolade.

This brochure was produced in part by: Park County Planning Department Members of the Park County Planning and Development Board Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks National Parks Conservation Association, Yellowstone Field Office