LEE METCALF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Stevensville, Montana ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1989 Washington Office LEE METCALF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Stevensvi1le, Montana ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1989 U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM REVIEW AND APPROVALS LEE METCALF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Stevensvillef Montana ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1989 Refuge Manager Date Refuge Supervisor Review Date . _/ Regional Office Approval Date INTRODUCTION The Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Bitterroot Valley of Southwest Montana. This north-south valley begins in Lolo, Montana, and terminates on the Idaho border; a distance of approximately 80 miles. The refuge is located 25 miles south of Missoula and lies entirely within Ravalli County. As civilization encroached on this fertile area, agriculture and commercial hunting caused wildlife to decline. Undisturbed habitat for wildlife and the development of the favorable environment for waterfowl production was needed. The Lee Metcalf Refuge was established in 1963 using duck stamp money and presently contains the following land areas: Wetlands (Deep Fertile Marshes) 600 acres Uplands (Croplands) 260 acres (Grasslands) 685 acres Forest lands (River Bottom) 1,255 acres Total 2,800 acres Water impoundments provide a chain of ponds and sloughs which are utilized by ducks and geese. This is one of the few areas in the United States where the public can observe "tree" nesting geese. Several species of grebes and a wide variety of shore birds, such as, bittern, sora rail, spotted sandpiper, Wilson's phalarope, great blue heron, and killdeer also use the refuge. B. Twist Tree nesting geese can be observed from the county road. i Birds of prey are abundant at the refuge, including wintering bald eagles and numerous pairs of nesting osprey. Owls include great-horned, pygmy, and short-eared. All the locally common hawks and prairie falcon may be seen here at various seasons, including an occasional peregrine in the spring and fall. Waterfowl Lane, a county maintained road, bisects the lower half of the refuge and provides excellent wildlife viewing opportunities to the general public. Three historical information signs are also located along this road. These signs contain information from the 1800's pertaining to the Salish Indian Ceremonial Grounds, the Francois Slough Sweathouses# and the Hanging of Whiskey Bill. / ii INTRODUCTION TABLE OF CONTENTS Page A. HIGHLIGHTS 1 B• CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 2 c« LAND ACQUISITION 1. Fee Title 3 2. Easements 3 3. Other NTR D. PLANNING 1. Master Plan 4 2. Management Plan 4 3. Public Participation NTR 4. Compliance with Environmental Mandates 4 5. Research and Investigations 5 6. Other NTR E. ADMINISTRATION 1. Personnel 8 2. Youth Programs 9 3. Other Man-Power Programs 9 4. Volunteer Program 10 5. Funding 13 6. Safety .13 7. Technical Assistance 14 8. Other 15 F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT 1. General 15 2. Wetlands 16 3. Forests 20 4• Croplands 20 5. Grasslands 22 6. Other Habitats 24 7. Grazing .24 8. Haying 24 9. Fire Management 25 10. Pest Control 26 11. Water Rights 27 12. Wilderness and Special Areas .NTR 13. WPA Easement Monitoring NTR iii G. WILDLIFE 1. Wildlife Diversity 28 2. Endangered and/or Threatened Species 28 3. Waterfowl 29 4. Marsh and Water Birds 32 5. Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns, and Allied Species 32 6. Raptors ' 33 7. Other Migratory Birds NTR 8. Game Mammals 35 9. Marine Animals NTR 10. Other Resident Wildlife 36 11. Fisheries Resources 38 12. Wildlife Propagation and Stocking NTR 13. Surplus Animal Disposal NTR 14. Scientific Collections 38 15. Animal Control 39 16. Marking and Banding 39 17. Disease Prevention and Control NTR H. PUBLIC USE 1. General 39 2. Outdoor Classroom/Students 40 3. Outdoor Classroom/Teachers 40 4. Interpretive Foot Trails 43 5. Interpretive Tour Routes 43 6. Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations 44 7. Other Interpretive Programs 45 8. Hunting 50 9. Fishing 54 10. Trapping NTR 11. Wildlife Observation 54 12. Other Wildlife Oriented Recreation NTR 13. Camping NTR 14. Picnicking 54 15. Off-Road Vehicles NTR 16. Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation NTR 17. Law Enforcement 55 18. Cooperating Associations NTR 19. Concessions. NTR I. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES 1. New Construction 55 2. Rehabilitation 57 3. Major Maintenance .....NTR 4. Equipment Utilization and Replacement 57 5. Communications NTR 6. Computer Systems NTR 7. Energy Conservation 59 8. Other 59 iv J. OTHER ITEMS 1. Cooperative Programs 59 2. Other Economic Uses NTR 3. Items of Interest 60 4. Credits 60 v A. HIGHLIGHTS This was Montana's Centennial Celebration. Special events brought thousands of people to the town of Stevensville, which is the oldest town in the state. (Sec. H-l) Ducks Unlimited, Inc. completed construction of the $200,000 Otter Pond. (Sec. 1-1) Volunteer programs logged 2,104 hours, 152 more than last year. (Sec. E-4) Cormorants nested on the refuge for the first time. A great egret spent two weeks on station. This was the forth sighting on record for the refuge and the 21st for the state. (Sec. G~4) The first "Kid's Fishing Clinic" was held in July. (Sec. H-7) ( The home of Harold Hagen was turned over to the refuge under a life use agreement. The house, a log cabin built around 1880, was the original homestead of the Whaley's, and may be National Register Eligible. (Sec.D-4). Bill Munoz Greetings 1 1 B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS For the first time in three years we experienced, overall, near normal temperatures and precipitation. However, both a record- breaking high and low occurred, and it was unusually windy this year. 1989 WEATHER DATA** - LEE METCALF NWR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE Snow- Month Norm* Inches DN fall Norm* Avg DN JAN 1.45 .97 _ .48 10.6 23.5 30.8 +7.3 FEB .86 .43 - .43 5.1 30.5 17.4 -13.1 MAR .75 2.74 +1 .99 21.1 35.7 33.7 -2.0 APR .78 .91 + .13 2.9 44.4 47.7 + 3.3 MAY 1.51 1.39 - .12 T 52.5 52.6 +0.1 JUN 1.65 1.27 - .38 59.6 60.3 +0.7 JUL .78 .64 - .14 65.7 67.6 +1.9 AUG .79 1.72 + .93 63.8 62.5 -1.3 SEP .89 ' .56 - .33 55.1 56.0 +0.9 OCT .81 .45 - .36 T 44.5 45.8 +1.3 NOV .97 ,93 - .04 5.0 32.9 39.3 +6.4 DEC 1.25 .70 - .55 5.2 26.8 29.2 + 2.4 Total 12.49 12.71 .22 49.9 44.6 45.2 + .6 * Based on 30-year average (1951-1980) **Weather data provided by U. S. Forest Service, Stevensville, MT DN Deviation from norm January presented ten inches of snow in the valley, with mountain snowpack at 100%, the best it's been in three years. Even so, it was much warmer than normal with a record-breaking high of 61 on 30 January. Damaging winds were experienced on 17,18, and 30 of January. The day after the record high, arctic air moved in at 10 pm and by 2 am the temperature had dropped from 29 to -10. The cold was enhanced with 24 roph winds causing a -70 wind-chill factor. A record low occurred on 4 Feb, and the remainder of the month was frigid and windy. Ponds were 100% ice covered, which rarely occurs. Mountain snowpack dropped to 87%. Abnormally high precipitation in March made up for the deficiencies in the previous two months; 21" of snow fell, just short of the record. Ice cover on the ponds remained at 100% during the first half of the month, but at month's end most were open. A low- elevation melt occurred during the later part of the second week, causing two diversion dikes on Threemile Creek to wash out. Most ponds were ice free by 24 March. 2 Spring was very windy. Damaging winds struck periodically throughout April and May, blowing several osprey nests down. Overall, snowpack was 10 to 30% below normal. The high elevation melt was gradual, beginning in mid-May and continuing throughout the first week.in June. River levels peaked 10 May. By the end of June, valley conditions were fair; however, mountain conditions were dry. All refuge impoundments met water level objectives. A hail storm on 27 July, which lasted about 30 minutes damaged crops in three fields. The storm, which dropped one inch of rain, was very localized; no hail or rain fell in town. Damaging winds destroyed two of the five newly established cormorants* nests. Extremely dry conditions prevailed in the mountains and a record 231 fires were recorded for the Bitterroot Valley by the end of the month, 9 of which were person-caused. That number breaks a 23-year record of 224 fires set in 1966. However, only 200 acres actually burned compared to 31,000 last year from 135 fires. Water levels had dropped in borrow ponds on the west side of the refuge, or dried completely. This is typical for these ponds as they have gravelly bottoms, and need a constant supply of water to maintain levels. August was wetter than normal and slightly cooler. During both July and August many ranchers, including our cooperative, farmer were caught with hay drying in the fields when the rains came. A dusting of snow occurred on St. Mary's on the 24th; unlike the past two years, there were still patches of snow from last winter. Hail fell on the 30th. The first frost occurred on 11 September, and a dusting of snow fell in the valley on 31 October.