Projects

Upper Big Hole Range Rider

Black bear track, 2018. Since 2010, BHWC has employed a Range Rider who monitors 6 USFS grazing allotments for 7 livestock producers in the Upper Big Hole Valley. Ranchers turn their cows onto these lands July through September of each year. The range rider monitors the allotments (using day & night patrols, photo monitoring, foot, horse and vehicle patrols) for predator activity, cattle behavior, and range health during this time period. The rider reports any predator activity to the livestock producer who can then adjust cattle accordingly. If livestock depredation is suspected, the rider reports to it to MFWP adn teh livestock producer, who informs USDA Wildlife Services. A Wildlife Service official will then investigate the situation to determine if the producer can be reimbursed for their loss(es).

The goal of the range rider program is to provide livestock monitoring on public land allotments and improve coordination between Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Wildlife Services, and livestock producers for livestock depredation. The rider’s efforts provides earlier detection and management of injured, sick or dead livestock, proactive management of livestock distribution, increased human presence, and early detection or wolf/livestock conflict. Secondary goals of the program are to increase knowledge of wolf activity and to report range issues such as issues with livestock water sources, fences, riparian conditions, and noxious weed infestation (for producers).

While primary predator conflict in the Big Hole Valley stems from wolf presence, the watershed is also home to mountain lions and black bears, and in 2016, an Upper Big Hole Range Rider game camera photographed a grizzly bear crossing a stream, marking the first confirmed instance of a grizzly bear in the watershed in several years, though residents often report sightings. We expect grizzly bears to continue to migrate through and potentially expand into our watershed as their populations grow, because the Big Hole watershed is an ideal migration corridor for large carnivores such as grizzly bears.

About BHWC’S Wildlife Programs

The Big Hole Watershed Committee’s Wildlife Conflict Reduction program was created to help livestock producers and wildlife thrive on a shared landscape. With that in mind, we have developed wildlife programs and initiatives to address wildlife conflict, including livestock carcass removal & composting during calving/lambing, bear-safety training & distribution of bear-resistant garbage cans, and a range rider who patrols summer grazing allotments monitoring for predator activity and livestock condition. We also participate in the landowner-led, regional wildlife conflict reduction group coordinated by the Heart of the Rockies initiative and provide carcass removal to Sage Creek ranchers for the Centennial Valley Association (for which they reimburse us).

Landowner-Led Regional Coordination

The BHWC participates in the landowner-led, regional coordination group hosted by the Heart of the Rockies Initiative and the Blackfoot Challenge. Along with eleven other groups, BHWC works to find sustainable solutions to help livestock producers and wildlife thrive on a shared landscape. This is accomplished through collaboration and capacity building in regards to nonlethal wildlife conflict reduction (e.g. range rider programs, carcass removal & composting, bear safety, etc.).