Madison Valley Conservation Assessment

1. Madison Valley Conservation Assessment

2. Madison Valley Study Area

4. Suites of Species Make Better Umbrellas

5. Candidate Pool Entering Species SelectionCommon name, Latin binomial Fish Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Oncorynchus clarki lewisi Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, Oncorynchus clarki bouvieri Arctic Grayling (fluvial), Thymallus arcticus Amphibians Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum Northern Leopard Frog, Rana pipiens Columbia Spotted Frog, Rana luteiventris Boreal Chorus Frog, Pseudacris maculata Boreal Toad, Bufo boreas boreas Reptiles Rubber Boa, Charina bottae Western Terrestrial Garter Snake, Thamnophis elegans Western Rattlesnake, Crotalus viridis Birds American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator Harlequin Duck, Histrionicus histionicus Barrow's Goldeneye, Bucephala islandica Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus Northern Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis Ferruginous Hawk, Buteo regalis Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus Blue Grouse, Dendragapus obscurus Greater Sage Grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus Great Gray Owl, Strix nebulosa Red-naped Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis Three-toed Woodpecker, Picoides tridactylus Black-backed Woodpecker, Picoides arcticus Olive-sided Flycatcher, Contopus cooperii Brown Creeper, Certhia americana Warbling Vireo, Vireo gilvus American Pipit, Anthus rebescens American Dipper, Cinclus mexicanus Yellow Warbler, Dendroica petechia Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii Black Rosy-Finch, Leucosticte atrata Mammals Masked Shrew, Sorex cinereus Townsend's Big-eared Bat, Corynorhinus townsendii Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus Snowshoe Hare, Lepus townsendii Beaver, Castor canadensis Pine Squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus Northern Pocket Gopher, Thomomys talpoides Southern Red-backed Vole, Clethrionomys gapperi Heather Vole, Phenacomys intermedius Sagebrush Vole, Lemmiscus curtatus Coyote, Canis latrans Gray Wolf, Canis lupus Mountain Lion, Felis (Puma) concolor Canada Lynx, Lynx canadensis Wolverine, Gulo gulo River Otter, Lontra canadensis American Marten, Martes americana Fisher, Martes pennanti Black Bear, Ursus americanus Grizzly Bear, Ursus arctos Pronghorn, Antilocapra americana Bison, Bison (Bos) bison Bighorn Sheep, Ovis canadensis Wapiti (Elk), Cervus elaphus Moose, Alces alces Mule Deer, Odocoileus hemionus

6. area vulnerability socio-economicsignificance heterogeneity functionality Selecting Landscape Species 5 criteria for selecting landscape species

7. Species Area Heterogeneity Functionality Vulnerability Socioeconomic Total Grizzly Bear 0.75 0.75 1.00 1.00 1.00 4.50 Gray Wolf 0.62 1.00 0.46 0.19 1.00 3.27 Wapiti (Elk) 0.39 0.69 0.77 0.54 0.80 3.19 Mountain Lion 0.58 0.86 0.23 0.47 1.00 3.14 Wolverine 1.00 0.62 0.08 0.62 0.60 2.91 Mule Deer 0.66 0.58 0.23 0.72 0.60 2.80 Canada Lynx 0.88 0.55 0.08 0.65 0.60 2.76 Black Bear 0.70 0.37 0.62 0.19 0.60 2.47 Beaver 0.48 0.33 0.77 0.04 0.80 2.42 Coyote 0.46 0.60 0.46 0.09 0.80 2.41 Greater Sage Grouse 0.45 0.40 0.23 0.66 0.60 2.35 Northern Pocket Gopher 0.58 0.29 0.85 0.08 0.40 2.19 Moose 0.49 0.29 0.23 0.54 0.60 2.16 River Otter 0.61 0.32 0.15 0.15 0.80 2.03 Species Ranking

8. Final Landscape Species • Wolverine • Bighorn sheep • Moose • Grizzly bear (CERI) • Pronghorn (CERI) • Elk (CERI) • Red-naped sapsucker • Sage grouse • Boreal toad • Columbia spotted frog • Black-backed woodpecker • Warbling vireo • Yellow warbler • West slope cutthroat trout • Arctic grayling • Riparian Habitat

9. A Simplified Approach Problem: Find the minimum set of focal species that will umbrella all major habitats Species 1  Species 2  Species 3   • Characteristics of Good Focal Species • Large Area Requirements • Sensitive to Habitat Change • Compliments Other Focal Species     

10. Species 4 Species 3 Species 2 Species 1 Species 4

11. Habitat Elements vs. Species Needs Importance Vegetation Structure Community Composition Habitat Generalist Habitat Specialist

12. Selecting Habitat Types • Identify Broad Habitat Types (e.g. coniferous forest, riparian, grassland steppe, etc.) • Subdivide by important topographical classes (lowland, alpine, etc) • Include specialty habitats (e.g. whitebark pine, cliff faces, standing burnt forest)

13. Choosing Focal Species • Start With: • Need large areas to survive and persist • Are sensitive to human threats or activitiesand optionally: • Are keystone species-species whose loss would significantly alter the ecosystem Add: • Species as close to target as possible • Do not overlap habitat requirements with previous species Large Area Requirements Sensitive to Threats Keystone Species

14. Landscape Species Approach human landscape (people’s activities) biological landscape (species’ requirements) intersections define the conservation landscape identify Priorities direct and focus interventions

15. Human landscapes

16. Goal: To conserve and restore all major wildlife habitat types and their component species with emphasis on ungulate winter range, riparian ecosystems, and linkages between mountain chains and mountain valleys. Conservation Target: Maintain viable meta-populations of Columbia Spotted Frog Direct threat (stress): Predation and competition Direct threat (stress): Mortality Direct threat (stress): Habitat loss Source: Disease??? Source: Loss of floodplain pools due to river regulation by dams Source: Loss of beaver Source: Dewatering from irrigation, loss of beaver Source: Historical non-native fish introductions Intervention: Reduce spreading through education Indirect threat: Management emphasis on sport fishery Indirect threat: Inadequate information on breeding sites Indirect threat: Local and regional environmental contamination Intervention: Beaver restoration Intervention: Lease water rights for conservation Intervention: Remove nonnative fish Intervention: Elevate importance of amphibians and their mgmt Intervention: Inventory for breeding sites in MVPU Intervention: Mitigate contamination around breeding sites Conceptual models

17. Mapped Human Influences • Housing (Structures) Density • (Weighted) Road Density • Roadway Salting • Motor Recreation (Snowmobiling) • Grazing (Public Lands) • Mining • Water Quality • Dewatering • Fish Stocking (Non-native Introductions) • Fire Severity

18. Habitat Models • Information Sources • Existing Models • Literature Review • Expert Interviews • Workshops

19. Habitat

20. connectivity

21. Species Report Outline • Focal Species (Scientific name) • Current Status: • Current Threats: • Habitat Analysis: • Conservation Strategies:

22. summary Analysis

23. Umbrella effects

24. SPECIES VULNERABILITY Umbrella1 Proportion Umbrella2 Proportion Umbrella3 Proportion INDEX Mammals 0 Masked Shrew 0.083618396 Grizzly Bear 0.33 Wapiti (Elk) 0.33 Moose 0.33 Townsend's Big-eared Bat 0.059673128 Grizzly Bear 0.33 Wapiti (Elk) 0.33 Bighorn Sheep 0.33 Black-tailed Jackrabbit 0.02204485 Pronghorn 1.00 Snowshoe Hare 0.045990118 Grizzly Bear 0.70 Wolverine 0.30 Beaver 0.0336374 Riparian Habitat 0.70 Moose 0.30 Pine Squirrel 0.091220068 Grizzly Bear 0.33 Wapiti (Elk) 0.33 Moose 0.33 Northern Flying Squirrel 0.091220068 Black-backed Woodpecker 0.70 Grizzly Bear 0.30 Northern Pocket Gopher 0.051311288 Grizzly Bear 0.33 Wapiti (Elk) 0.33 Moose 0.33 Southern Red-backed Vole 0.045610034 Wolverine 0.70 Grizzly Bear 0.30

25. Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (378 vertebrate species)

29. Setting priorities • Species Richness • Connectivity Hotspots • Addressing Key Threats

30. CurrentBiodiversity potential

31. Loss of Biodiversity Potential

32. Priority Areas for Conserving Biodiversity • Papoose Creek to Raynold’s Pass • Sagebrush Steppe • Norris Hill to North Meadow Creek • Jack Creek Drainage • Madison Willow Flats

33. Potential habitat connectivity

34. Current Habitat Connectivity

35. Change in habitat connectivity

36. Priority Areas for Wildlife Connectivity • Wolf Creek to Raynold’s Pass • Norris Hill to North Meadow Creek • Central Valley • Major Drainages and foothills • Virginia City Hill

37. Analyzing threats

41. Priorities Based on Threats • Protect and restore aquatic habitats that support fish and amphibians. • Restore natural fire patterns to restore fire-dependent habitats and fire-dependent species. • Protect and restore sagebrush and native grassland habitats. • Reduce the impact of subdivision development on wildlife. • Mitigate the impact of roads through improved design through travel corridors.

42. So What? • Madison County Planning Board (decision support tool, conservation overlay) • Forest Service Management Plans • Madison Valley Futuring Committee • Individual Landowners

43. Fine-scale analysis

44. Area Growth 1905 - 2005 Maps and Animation Compliments of the Sonoran Institute

45. Predicted Loss of Wildlife Habitat Predicted loss of grizzly bear habitat using growth projections for 2025

46. Major supporters M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust The Turner Foundation Wildlife Conservation Society Special thanks to: The Madison Valley Ranchlands Group, US Forest Service, MT Fish Wildlife and Parks, The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, MT Audubon Society, and Trust for Public Lands

47. Choosing a Focal Species Suite to Create a Complete Conservation Umbrella Goals: • Conserve sufficient quantity and quality of all major habitat types to support ecologically functional populations of all native species present in the planning area. • Implement mitigation strategies that effectively reduce the impact of all activities that significantly threaten the persistence of any native species to levels that insure a high likelihood of persistence for the next 100 years. • Ensure the continuation of all natural ecosystem processes (either through natural occurrence or simulation by prescription) that are necessary for the long-term persistence of all native species within their natural range of variability of abundance. • Respect the importance of wildlife to local economies and culture, and implementing strategies to maximize positive, and minimizes negative, effects of wildlife on these economies while preserving cultural values.

48. Complete Conservation Requires Multiple Umbrellas Threats Habitat Processes Area • Complete Communities • - all native species in natural abundance • Complete Ecosystem Function • Human Values

49. Hierarchy of Conservation Needs Public values that support conservation Social Acceptance Allow or simulate natural processes to sustain natural habitat heterogeneity Ecological Processes Security from direct and indirect threats that threaten the survival or natural abundance of individuals or populations Security Habitat Availability of appropriate habitat types in sufficient quantity and quality to support individuals and populations Sufficient area to support individuals and populations at ecologically functional levels Area

50. Using Focal Species to Address Conservation Needs