An Environmental Review of the Centennial Valley, Montana

An Environmental Review of the Centennial Valley, Montana Joseph M. Trudeau December, 2007 i An Environmental Review of the Centennial Valley, Montana A report prepared for the International Center for Earth Concerns Submitted by Joseph M. Trudeau Preserve Land Works Hancock, New Hampshire December 2007 Cover Photographs: Background: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in xeric forest-grassland ecotone, Tepee Creek Inset: Looking north across the Centennial Valley over Lima Reservoir to the Snowcrest and Gravelly Mountains This page: Swainson’s hawk (Buteo swainsoni) takes flight, Odell Creek Next page: Wet meadow dominated by Carex species occupying a glacially formed pothole in the central Centennial Valley Following page: Eastern Centennial Mountains from Gravelly foothills All photographs in this report were taken by the author in July of 2007 unless otherwise noted. This report should be cited as follows: Trudeau, J.M. 2007. An environmental review of the Centennial Valley, Montana. Unpublished report prepared for the International Center for Earth Concerns. ii Preamble Southwest Montana’s Centennial Valley, as defined by the valley bottom and associated watershed uplands, is indeed one of the most unique places in the United States, and one of the most biologically important landscapes in the northern Rocky Mountains. The valley consistently yields impressive results from botanical inventories, wildlife studies, ecological investigations, and landscape analyses. Effective conservation of natural and cultural systems here is exceptionally important for the long-term viability of wildlife, vegetative communities, traditional ranching lifestyles, and ecological processes at local to continental scales. The threats posed to the integrity of the Centennial Valley by anthropogenic and natural forces are considerable. These pressures merit an enormous investment of intellectual, financial, physical and philosophical labor. The level of involvement of environmental organizations, governmental agencies, citizens, and scientists and the cooperative stewardship undertakings they’ve shared with ranchers and residents is equally noteworthy. To maintain into the future this vast wealth of natural brilliance that is the Centennial Valley, our relationships must grow stronger, our endeavors expand respectfully broader, and our reverence of and inquiry into this remarkable natural legacy must be enhanced. This document is presented as a tool for building a greater understanding of this very significant landscape and society’s role as its stewards. iii Purpose and Scope This report provides an extensive environmental review of the Centennial Valley. A remarkable volume of knowledge has grown from over a century of investigation and observation within the diverse environments encountered in and around the valley. To the full extent of the authors ability this collection of literature was gathered, examined, and included here, providing a summary of essential environmental information. Detailed and comprehensive analyses of the entire body of work were not done; this task would demand an enormous amount of time and additional field study worthy of a lifelong commitment. Instead, presented herein is a logical foundation to build an enhanced understanding of the Centennial ecosystem upon, presented in an attractive, readable, and fact-based format. Scientific investigations, popular literature, unpublished reports, and face-to-face conversation with experts and stakeholders combined with a time spent in the valley provided an abundance of fibers with which I’ve attempted to weave a fabric of natural history within the contemporary social and climate change context, intended to inform and educate the conservation community or curious reader. The primary intent of this report is to provide a basis for decision making and programmatic development for the Lakeview Environmental Education and Research Center, and stand as a reference point for future endeavors there. It is equally important that this product become available to the broadest audience possible. A long-time advocate for conservation of the Centennial Valley remarked that by sharing this product the holders of this report have the opportunity to cultivate a community who will stay connected to the place and involved in its issues. The information contained here was generated through the dedicated efforts of hundreds of people over decades and should serve as the basis for effective conservation work by the Lakeview Center and the larger conservation community. iv Acknowledgements Completion of this project was made possible with funding from the Wildlife Land Trust, the Friends of the Centennial Valley, and the International Center for Earth Concerns. Ethan Aumack and Jan Shaffer from the Grand Canyon Trust provided helpful intellectual and logistical support. Jay Frederick and Kevin Suzuki from the U.S. Forest Service, Madison Ranger District offered their time for important conversation. Pat Fosse and Ali Piwowar from the Dillon Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management offered time and material support. Greg Lewis, Quinn Jacobsen and Corey Moffet from the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho generously offered insightful conversation and unpublished information. Sharon Hooley from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Creston Fish & Wildlife Center in Kalispell, Montana provided document location and delivery services. Mike Parker, Jeff Warren, Jackie Vann, Suzanne Beauchaine, and Jeff Everett from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided documents, conversation, insights, and important discussion. Chuck Maddox and Dan Dobler from Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation provided insights into the state perspective. Tony Povilitis from American Wildlands, Marcy Mahr from the Flathead Land Trust, Greg Kudray from Montana’s Natural Heritage Program, Tana Kappel from The Nature Conservancy, Charles Kay from Utah State University, Jay Rotella from Montana State University, Kelly Pohl from the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Jack Eddie from the Beaverhead County Weed District Office, Maria Newcomb from the University of Wisconsin, Kyle Cutting from Montana State University, and swamp lover John Pierce all gave of their time and energy to discuss the Centennial Valley and provide literature or other information. Numerous organizations provided out-of-print or hard to find literature including the Wildlands Project, Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, and Greater Yellowstone Coalition. Jerry Scheid and Bonnie and Bill Huntsman spoke at length and that time was taken from their very busy schedules; for that I am deeply grateful. Jerry Taft, Peter Bender, Bill Nickelson, David Cowan, several Nature Conservancy Interns, Red Rock Lakes volunteers, Elk Lake Lodge, four wayfaring Continental Divide hikers, and the “Rally in the Valley” crew made for a comfortable and casual working environment. Heartfelt thanks go to Nathan Korb, Centennial Valley Land Steward (TNC), and his wife Jamie, for opening their home to me and providing camaraderie, conversation, document delivery, unique perspectives, and delicious meals. John and Melody Taft provided gracious hospitality, conversation, Centennial Valley lore, and charismatic residence during my stay in the Centennial Valley. Clark Wheeler at Northern Arizona University facilitated a complicated rush to gather a tremendous amount of electronic literature. Amy Markus at the Hancock Town Library facilitated Interlibrary Loan transactions. Finally, I must thank my partner in life, Amber Renee Fields for her patience and support during this long and difficult project, and I extend a huge amount of gratitude for the community of conservationists who have rallied to preserve the integrity of the Centennial Valley through hard work, deep thought, and sincere emotion. -Joe Trudeau Hancock, New Hampshire v A portion of the Montana Natural Heritage Program Lima and Hebgen Lake Quadrangle Public Ownership Maps. These maps and the data used to create them are free and easily accessible at http://nris.mt.gov/gis/. The two maps were cropped and merged in Microsoft thus explaining the graphic misalignment in the center of the image vi Table of Contents Preamble iii Purpose and Scope iv Acknowledgements v Centennial Valley Land Ownership & Management Map vi Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Part I. Summary of Environmental Information 4 The Centennial “Hot Spot” 5 Introduction 5 Landscape Diversity 5 Wetlands 7 Centennial Valley Land Cover Map 9 Biological Diversity 10 Carnivore Corridors 10 Conservation Concerns 14 Conservation in Action 21 Conclusion 22 Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Map 24 Wetlands and Riparian Areas 25 The Grasslands/Sagebrush Matrix 44 Mid Elevation Conifer Forests 56 Aspen 61 High Elevation Forests 65 High Elevation Shrublands, Grasslands, & Fields 72 Fire Ecology & Management 77 Research Needs 88 Part II. Centennial Valley Documents Library 90 The Centennial Valley Documents Library 91 Included in the Library 91 Not Included in the Library 91 How to Use the Library 92 Master Bibliography 94 Annotated Bibliography 112 Top-Ten Must Reads 135 Un-retrieved Literature 136 Appendix A: Conservation Rank Descriptions 137 Appendix B: Sources of GIS Data 138 1 Introduction This report is the outcome of field and literature research into the environment of the Centennial Valley and into opportunities and challenges facing the Lakeview Center for Environmental Research and Education (Lakeview Center) at Lakeview,

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