The Confluence Winter 2021
From The Director
Swan Valley Connections 6887 MT Highway 83 Condon, MT 59826 p: (406) 754-3137 f: (406) 754-2965 info@svconnections.org
Board of Directors Barbara Hill Raible, Chair Helene Michael, Vice Chair Rich Thomason, Treasurer Kathy DeMaster Larry Garlick Alex Metcalf Casey Ryan Mary Shaw Scott Tomson Tina Zenzola
Emeritus Russ Abolt Anne Dahl Steve Ellis Neil Meyer
Advisory Council Kvande Anderson Steve Bell Jim Burchfield Mark Schiltz Andrea Stephens Mark Vander Meer
Dear Friends, On behalf of everyone at Swan Valley Connections, happy New Year, happy winter, happy everything. Welcome to our winter edition of The Confluence. Winter…the time when grasses, shrubs, and trees go dormant, saving their energy to spring forth again in the lengthening days of spring; when many insects and pollinators snuggle into the leaf litter and matted plants in your yard, waiting until the blooms open again; when animals like skunks, snakes, and bears retreat to their winter dens to shelter from the storms, awaiting warmer days and the influx of food to come; and, when we gather around home fires for stories, connecting with families and elders in the quiet time of year. We hope you are getting time to connect with those you love, and to conserve your energy for the year ahead…even if it looks a little differently this year than most. At the time of this writing, we have had a mild and warm start to winter, though we are looking ahead to predicted cold and snow over the next couple of months. We’ll welcome the snow for our rare forest carnivore monitoring program. In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and The Nature Conservancy, our technicians are starting to survey the Southwest Crown of the Continent for fishers, lynx, and wolverines. They’re following tracks, capturing images, and collecting DNA to document the presence of these elusive animals. This program provides important data to land and wildlife managers, and it will directly inform policies and actions that impact these species and their habitats. This winter we’re also dedicating ourselves to providing as many educational opportunities as we are able. On the first Wednesday of every month, we’ll be hosting a free, fun, and educational presentation via Zoom, which will also be recorded and posted on our website and YouTube page. We are hosting three wildlife tracks and sign classes, as well as volunteer opportunities to learn about our carnivore program. And, we’re preparing for spring workshops, college classes, a summer Master Naturalist certification course, and
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Staff Rebecca Ramsey, Executive Director Andrea DiNino Leanna Grubaugh Sara Lamar Luke Lamar Mike Mayernik Rob Rich Uwe Schaefer The Confluence is published by Swan Valley Connections, a non-profit organization situated in Montana’s scenic Swan Valley. Our mission is to conserve the intact ecosystems within and surrounding the Swan Valley and to strengthen the connection between people and the natural world through collaboration and experiential learning. Images by Swan Valley Connections’ staff, students, or volunteers unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved to Swan Valley Connections. Change service requested.
SwanValleyConnections.org Front cover image: Three-toed Woodpecker by Andrea DiNino Back cover image: Carnivore Monitoring near Rice Ridge 2019 by Andrea DiNino
more opportunities to volunteer. We’re posting short informational videos on our social media pages and continuing the Swan Valley Almanac videos quarterly. Please visit our website, join our mailing list, find us on Facebook and Instagram, or call our office to learn more. The winter issue of The Confluence, so named because we think of ourselves as being at the confluence of conservation and education here at SVC, focuses on our connections to wildlife. You will learn about conservation storytelling with a recent alumna, some local history of the missing fishers of the Swan, and how beaver dam analogues can restore watershed health. Additionally, we are featuring updates from the Swan Lands Coordinating Network. The purpose of the Swan Lands Coordinating Network is to provide agencies, organizations, and civic groups working in the Swan Valley with ways to coordinate with one another and share information with interested members of the community. Ordinarily, SVC hosts a meeting at the community hall here in Condon, where we invite our partners to connect and share their accomplishments and planned projects in person. Since we still are not gathering in large numbers, we thought adding a few extra pages here to share the good work happening in our valley would be a better way to connect this year. As we reflect on 2020, and look ahead to 2021, we genuinely thank you all for your support during what was a tough year for everyone. Your gifts throughout the year, and during the “Wild for Wildlife” fundraising campaign, have helped us to: provide landowner forest stewardship services; steward the Elk Creek Conservation Area and the newly named Swan Legacy Forest property (our 1/4 of Section 31 across from the community library); offer bear-resistant garbage cans and coexistence services to landowners; monitor rare carnivores; continue water quality, native fish, and trail camera programs; assist visitors and backcountry trail stewardship; and grow opportunities for you to learn about our incredibly valuable landscape in even more ways. We hope you’ll consider investing in the Swan again this year by making a monthly, annual, or legacy gift. And in return, we’ll keep working to keep you connected to this gem within the Crown of the Continent ecosystem, and to keep this place the wonderful treasure you know it to be. Happy Winter,
Rebecca Ramsey, Executive Director
Wildlife Tracks & Sign Certification With David Moskowitz and Casey McFarland April 15-16 Specialist Cert April 17-18 Standard Cert Spend two days in the field with professional wildlife trackers and educators David Moskowitz and Casey McFarland in these Cybertracker certification courses (http://trackercertification.com). David has an approach that is highly interactive; he actively engages participants in identification and interpretation of tracks and signs, and allows plenty of time for questions and discussion. Certificates are awarded on three levels - we will be offering both the “Standard” and “Specialist” certifications, with both David and Casey evaluating our specialists. Class size is limited to 10 people; lodging and food not provided. This course fills quickly— early registration recommended. www.davidmoskowitz.net
Please e-mail Sara@SVConnections.org to pre-register
www.caseymcfarland.net
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Thinking Like a Beaver: A BDA Primer By Rob Rich
Photo by Tim Umphreys @tim_umphreys In the first snow of October 2018, along Basin Creek outside of Butte, Montana, I volunteered to be a beaver. Or, lacking all the right anatomy, I at least tried to think and act how nature’s best woodworkers might. In this restoration project – using simple cutting and digging tools, plus a dose of aquatic ingenuity – I worked with colleagues to mimic the masters and build a series of beaver dam analogues (BDAs). Such low-tech earth-shaping seemed shallow next to the chasm at the nearby Berkeley Pit, but I knew these BDAs promised deep impacts, enhancing stable flows for Basin Creek’s westslope cutthroat trout, and for the people of Butte, who draw on these waters to drink, wash, and flush every day. I was particularly eager to learn with Amy Chadwick, a senior ecologist at Great West Engineering, and one of Montana’s leading BDA pioneers. With partners ranging from the Blackfoot Challenge to the Blackfeet Nation, Amy has installed hundreds of BDAs around the state. Her expertise in beaver mimicry has changed a once-obscure restoration practice into a common-sense tool deployed by diverse allies in the conservation community. At particular sites and wider ecosystems, connectivity drives the need for BDAs in conservation today. The singlethread, steep-banked channel of Basin Creek had cut at least four feet into the earth, a vertical depth which denied the creek’s lateral access to a dynamic, fertile floodplain. Waters could once lasso about in spring runoff, but in becoming a knife
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instead of a braided rope, the creek prevented the floodplain from its nominal function. And, without seasonal inundations to recharge, the riparian zone had hardened and dried. Not far off, amidst the conifers encroaching where willows once grew, a peculiar earthen berm revealed the disconnection impacting a far wider scale: a defunct beaver dam, partly subsumed and entirely overgrown after decades of neglect. Beavers once stored water behind the dam to enhance their own safety and access to food, and in doing so, they supported countless other species, recharged groundwater reserves, and stabilized surface flows through the year. But without this keystone species, their beneficiaries and ecosystem services collapse too. Unfortunately, that dilemma of disconnection at Basin Creek is too common across the Intermountain West, where 80 percent of biodiversity exists on the 2 percent of the region in wetland and riparian habitat. The Swan Valley has been able to boast that 16 percent of its surface area is covered in water, but in a rapidly changing climate, such a statistic cannot be taken for granted. While beavers narrowly escaped extinction in the Fur Trade Era, the legacy of their decline continues. The quandary posed at Basin Creek – and at many sites throughout the Swan Valley – remains: How can recovering beavers overcome the obstacles that developed in the decades of their absence? Where roads hem in rivers, where ponds become pastures, and where creeks constrict into irrigation networks – how can
beavers adapt? While relocating beavers often seems the quick response, this tactic alone can’t address the habitat concerns that might estrange transplants from the old haunts of their kin. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks rarely authorizes beaver relocation, which can perpetuate a “nuisance” mentality, and considerable risk to the family-oriented rodents themselves. This is where BDAs come in – not as a replacement for beavers, but as a tool for improving conditions so that beavers have incentive to return. A BDA is not a once-and-done, forever-fixed product, after all. It is a bridging step in the restoration process, and one that can shape our thoughts towards working with beavers for the wetter landscape that we – and so many other species – will need. The promise of BDAs is not impermeability, but the low-tech potential to link healthy streams, human stewards, and recovering beaver populations. The Flathead National Forest’s Mid-Swan Project (currently under review) contains a significant BDA component on our public lands, and SVC is encouraging good site selection and community engagement. We’re also eager to partner with landowners to advance the potential of BDAs and beaver restoration on private land, so please be in touch to explore the opportunities for related work where you live (406-7543137; rob@svconnections.org). BDAs do require permitting and planning, and I’ll be keen to share a conversation, resources, and/or a free site visit. No single person has all the answers to the past losses and future threats in our watersheds, and Homo sapiens can’t think their way through these issues alone. But together, with beavers, we can.
Building a BDA is both an art and science that, in simplest terms, often involves pounding wooden stakes in a stream and filling the gaps with woven branches and heaps of mud. The goal is to increase water storage in a more diverse, resilient habitat, and if these changes entice beavers to return and better the BDAs with continued improvements, that is the ultimate success.
Credit: V. Altounian/SCIENCE
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Tracking Down the Story of Fisher in the Swan Valley By Jessy Stevenson
Photo by David Moskowitz www.davidmoskowitz.net Late in December 2020, I called Tom Parker to ask if he’d be interested in hopping on a Zoom call with my dad and me to share a few stories about fishers in the Swan Valley. Tom and my dad, Mike Stevenson, met near the confluence of Gordon Creek and the South Fork of the Flathead River back in the summer of 1976. They had both been working for outfitters in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and they were just getting to know the vast country they’ve both called home for nearly five decades now. From winters spent trapping deep in the heart of the Bob Marshall, to long nights tracking rare carnivores and days spent teaching students that all things in this landscape are connected, Mike and Tom each hold a wealth of knowledge when it comes to local landscapes and the countless species that also call them home. As often happens, my phone call with Tom started out with a story. Just hours before, while the morning was still dark and Tom was busy relocating a burglar flying squirrel (which is another tale entirely), he had stumbled across what may have been the first fisher tracks he’d seen in the Swan in nearly a decade. The two-by diagonal bound and bound-group distance were just about perfect, Tom said, stating, “if it wasn’t a fisher, it was the Godzilla of all pine marten!” Perfect fuel for an interview all about this species! Luckily, Tom and Mike agreed to sit down over cups of virtual morning coffee, and it didn’t take long to track down a few more stories. But I’m getting ahead of myself. What is a fisher? And why ask to hear stories about them? After all, even having spent the better part of my life in rural, northwest Montana surrounded by naturalists, trappers, biologists, and folks who have spent more time outside than in, I’ve never seen one in the wild.
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Fisher, Pekania pennanti, are members of the weasel or mustelid family. With long, slender bodies, rounded ears, and thick tails, they look a lot like larger (or, as Tom would put it, “Godzilla”) versions of their cousin, the pine marten. As generalist predators, fishers primarily hunt snowshoe hares, and are one of the few species known to successfully hunt porcupine. Unable to navigate snow as well as other mustelids, they’re known to prefer continuous, multi-story conifer forests and, as cited in the 2019 Montana Fisher Study’s Annual Report, tend to favor areas with steep slope angles and low to moderate snowfall. These habitat characteristics might provide some insight as to why fisher populations have never been recorded in high densities in the Swan Valley, but the story doesn’t stop there. For quite some time, humans have been interested in fishers for more than just their tracks. Since the 18th century, these furbearers have been trapped for their valuable pelts. In the early 1900s, fishers could be found throughout North America, from Alaska to Oregon and across the boreal forests of Canada, with isolated populations in the Sierra Nevada, Appalachian Mountains, and throughout New England. By the 1930s however, fishers had been extirpated from much of their known habitat in the contiguous United States and Eastern Canada as the result of unregulated trapping and significant habitat loss and fragmentation. In an attempt to reestablish healthy fisher populations, trapping was restricted and a number of translocation projects were launched throughout the Northern Rockies in the 1950s and 1980s. While there’s still some question as to whether or not fisher existed historically in the Swan Valley, the 2016 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Summary of Fisher Habitat Tour
by Inman and Anderson confirms that a number of individuals were released near Holland Lake as part of these efforts in the late 1950s. With an estimated lifespan of around ten years, these fishers are likely the ancestors of the characters in Mike and Tom’s stories. By the early 1980s the trapping season reopened with a state-wide quota of 20 fishers. Over the next forty years, populations once again declined and the fisher was ultimately listed as a Species of Concern in Montana. Currently, the Bitterroot Fisher Management Unit (FMU) is the only place in the state where trapping fisher is still legal, with a quota of one animal. Mike and Tom, both experienced trappers, speculate that decades of trapping may be one reason we don’t see reproductive populations of fisher in the Swan Valley today, even if their numbers were low in the area to begin with. According to them, fishers are particularly susceptible to trapping since they’re fairly easy to catch as a non-target species and tend to fight traps with all their might, injuring themselves past the point of recovery. “They seem fairly docile until they have something to antagonize them,” Tom said, “and then you’ve got a keg of dynamite!” This brings me to something I’m always reminded of when listening to Mike and Tom recount stories of trapping, tracking, and conservation work. There are things we can learn from reading research papers and reviewing data, but at the end of the day, there’s simply no substitute for getting to know an animal out on the landscape. When it comes to the history of fishers in the Swan Valley, stories like Mike and Tom’s are some of the best, and
sometimes the only, records we have. Over the years, their stories become just as much a part of the landscape as a set of tracks or the animal itself. And beyond rich histories and biological facts, the things that make us sit for hours listening to those stories are the details that can only be learned, or maybe earned, by building an intimate relationship with a place and its inhabitants. “They’re smart, and they’re tenacious, and they’re curious, and I think a bit creative,” Tom said, when asked what sticks out most about the species after his years of trapping and tracking them. I couldn’t help but to think that curiosity is something Mike, Tom, and the fishers must all have in common. After all, you don’t spend hours and miles tracking an animal without a burning desire to learn something more than what the literature says. “You don’t get that perspective unless you really stay with [an] animal for a long time, with your eyes open, and really try to understand what’s going on,” Mike said. “Because you can be a hunter or a trapper all your life and have [an] encounter with killing an animal, but that’s completely different than really, really trying to understand that animal and looking at it’s back trail.” As a kid, I was taught that tracks are like writing on the landscape, telling new variations of old stories, season after season. Sometimes we understand the writing and sometimes it’s a mystery, but if we read it year after year, it can teach us more than any book. The history of fishers in the Swan Valley might be riddled with more questions than answers, but if we find some of that curiosity and follow a track or two, we might just learn more of their story.
“They seem fairly docile until they have something to antagonize them...and then you’ve got a keg of dynamite!”
Mike Stevenson (left) and Tom Parker (above) from their earlier days in the Swan Valley.
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Finding the Balance, in Story and Science: A Conversation with Alumna Tatum McConnell
Since completing SVC’s 9-credit college field program – Wildlife in the West, in 2019 – alumna Tatum McConnell has been pretty wild. Despite the complexities of college life amidst a global pandemic, Tatum has put her conservation storytelling skills to work as a communications intern with SVC’s longtime partner, Vital Ground. Also, as part of her senior thesis at Columbia University, Tatum has been working with SVC to research impacts of the Rare Carnivore Monitoring Project we conduct with partners throughout our region. Given that our 2021 monitoring – and her graduation – is just around the corner, I seized the chance to share a conversation with Tatum that explores where story and science overlap. Rob Rich: I’ve enjoyed following the work you’ve done as Vital Ground’s communications intern, including your blog posts, which explore everything from tracking to bear ecology to coexistence practices. Given that grizzly bears are an umbrella species with so many complex ties to their habitat, what factors guide your focus in the stories you write for Vital Ground? Tatum McConnell: Yeah, that’s a good question. I’m super interested in how different parts of the ecosystem interact and how these broader webs of life are happening all around us. It really starts with following my passions and what I am interested in, and then translating that for a broader audience. My recent blog post from October about Fat Bear Week is a good example, because I think that really spoke to people in a fun way, especially in 2020. For anyone who doesn’t know, Fat Bear Week is a competition with March-Madness-style voting on the fattest bears in Katmai National Park and Preserve, in Alaska. People were totally obsessed with this – talking about all the different bears, and sharing photos, and voting. But it gave me the chance to dive into the science of why bears actually get so fat during their autumn hyperphagia period, and to share some recent research. I learned that a bear’s fat is metabolically active, so it doesn’t create the negative effects of obesity that most other species would experience. I think teaching people a little bit more and making it fun is really my goal. I also think a lot about the role of charismatic megafauna. Are we doing conservation a service by focusing so much on a species like grizzly bears that people really care about? Or are we creating a problem where people don’t know about all the other endangered species that are out there? I’m always conscious of these questions. At Vital Ground we do “Wildlife Wednesdays” to tie in different species, and I’ve tried to use the blog to highlight various ecological interactions with grizzly bears. And, like you said, the umbrella species concept is a good one, because grizzlies do use a lot of different kinds of habitat, and many other species do as well. People do love grizzly bears, so it’s good to pull on that interest, and Vital Ground does our best to find that balance. RR: Yes, that’s excellent. You are very good at bringing the story out of the science and bridging many concepts, which is so important, especially given Vital Ground’s focus on connectivity and how different species relate. And that’s not easy, because there is a lot of public distrust in both the scientific process and journalism these days. Do you have any thoughts about how we can strengthen that trust and communicate science more effectively? TM: To be honest, I’m not sure that’s something I’ve thought
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Tatum field journaling at Glacier Slough during WiW ‘19
about a lot with the Vital Ground blog because, generally, the Vital Ground blog reader is going to be someone who’s interested in science, but I do think that’s a really good point. I think it’s key to affirm the validity of the scientific process, and also to acknowledge that one study doesn’t mean something has necessarily been proven 100 percent true. It’s just an indication in that direction. And it takes a lot of research to really build a true knowledge base. When I’m writing about one study, I’m careful not to overblow it, or change it into something bigger than the study actually says. If a scientific study says, “we’re indicating that this could be happening,” the article shouldn’t say “this is happening.” I try to be conscious of that relationship when I’m writing, and I think that’s a great question to explore in the future. RR: Yes, and of course the options we have to communicate science are changing so rapidly. Are there any particular tools or techniques that feel especially impactful for you right now? TM: Yeah, I always like to read studies, do research, see what’s out there on a topic, but then after that, I try to talk to someone who’s more knowledgeable about it. At Vital Ground we recently did a piece that was about grizzly bear mortality in the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem. This is a really touchy subject. We drew on a study, looked at why bears are dying, and found that it was largely human-caused, which is something I actually first learned in my Wildlife in the West program with SVC.
Photo by Steven Gnam www.gnam.photo Then, for context, I spoke to the lead researcher on that paper, and I really got a lot more information about why this is happening. She mentioned there’s a portion of mortalities that are unidentified, each with many different aspects to consider, but that there are known sources of human conflict that we need to be more careful about. So it was good to get the additional nuance by talking to the researcher. I also did a piece about beavers a little while ago, and you helped give me more expertise and pointed me in some interesting directions. That kind of dialogue is definitely important. RR: Nice. All the little anecdotes in those conversations help to animate stories with lived experience. To switch gears a bit, I’d like to ask about the research you’re doing for your senior thesis project. I’m curious how it feels to be conducting this research, or how that shapes your thoughts about sharing and communicating science with a non-academic audience? TM: Since I do write about science, and since I’m hoping to build a career writing about science, it’s been good to do the science myself with this thesis project. And I’ve definitely learned a lot. I would say, for me, I do find science to be a bit tedious. I’m very glad that there are people out there who are willing to forge ahead into it. For part of my thesis, I am interviewing wildlife professionals about the Carnivore Monitoring Project, with the goal of learning more about the conservation planning – how all that behind-the-scenes work leads to an on-the-ground result, and how that can be improved or modified. And so once I do an
interview, I transcribe the interview word for word. Then I code it by highlighting and sorting different themes using software, and finally I do the analysis. I’ve been going through that process, but I really just love to talk to people and write about it. So inside, I’m just like, “Oh my gosh, I had this conversation, I know what we said…just let me go write about it.” But the scientific process says, “No, be careful, look at every theme in every sentence and really do this analysis more carefully.” I appreciate that, from a scientific point of view. And I think going forward, it will help me understand all that goes into research and discovery. RR: As we wrap up, and as you move towards graduation, what are some of the main questions that you are asking about how to be an effective science communicator? TM: I’d say a big one is how to bring in all the different ways of knowing nature. Science is obviously a huge way in the Western world, and that’s my formal background. But especially since I studied with Swan Valley Connections, I have also become interested in Indigenous ways of knowing nature. We have all these Indigenous cultures that have been on the land for thousands and thousands of years, each with a different way of knowing. I’ve been reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, which is really excellent on this topic. And more generally, tying in personal experiences in nature is so important to get people to really care about conservation. We need to draw from the best knowledge wherever that comes from.
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Swan Lands Coordinating Network 2020 Updates The purpose of the SLCN is to provide agencies, organizations and civic groups working in the Swan Valley a venue for coordinating with one another, and to provide a flow of information with interested members of the community. Here’s a look at what some of our partners have been up to in the past year.
MONTANA DNRC - SWAN UNIT
The Swan Unit Timber program prepared, advertised, and sold 6.86 MMbf from the Lower Woodward and White Lion timber sales. In addition to selling timber harvest projects, we completed a variety of forest improvement projects. Approximately 70,000 seedlings were planted, 90 acres were pre-commercial thinned, 31 acres of planting site preparation was completed, and we successfully completed four activity fuels broadcast burn units totaling 90 acres. In addition to our forest improvement projects, the Swan Unit oversaw the implementation of the Upper South Woodward and Whitetail Slump sediment reduction projects under the DEQ 319 sediment reduction/water quality grant, a partnership with SVC. Looking forward, the Swan Unit is currently reviewing comments to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for our upcoming multiple timber sale project, Lost Napa EIS. We intend to respond to comments and, after all considerations, produce a decision and a Final Environmental Impact Statement this winter. The Swan Units 2020 fire season began with a lot of new faces on the crew. The timing of Covid-19 posed challenges during hiring and onboarding, but with new protocols we were able to bring everyone on safely and keep everyone healthy throughout the season. Overall, we had a slightly dryer that average summer, lasting to the end of September. Even though there was high potential for fire ignition, we had an average amount of fires this season. The Swan Unit responded to eight fires and two false alarms within our direct protection. Areas on the east side of the state experienced a dryer than average conditions with an increased number of fires this season. We were able to send our engine crews over to assist for multiple assignments. Nick Aschenwald, Unit Manager DNRC Swan River State Forest (406) 754-2301, naschenwald@mt.gov
SVC FOREST STEWARSHIP
With support and input from local volunteer fire departments, MT Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Swan Lake Ranger District, Swan Valley Connections applied for and received another Western States Wildland Urban Interface (WSF) grant early in 2020. This grant is cost-share funding for fire risk reduction on private lands within the Swan watershed. The funding comes through the USFS, is allocated to the DNRC, and is administered by SVC. Local contractors are hired by private landowners to do this fire risk reduction work, and the cost-share grant funds help reduce the out-of-pocket costs for those landowners. Fire risk reduction practices include: thinning overcrowded forest stands to 10’ average spacing, removing small trees and “ladder” fuels that can contribute to uncontrollable crown fires, and removing heavy accumulations of dead and down trees and materials. Focusing these actions in the immediate 0-300’ of a home or structure, as well as along access roads, is most critical. Projects are prioritized if they are adjacent to active or planned federal or state thinning projects, with the goal of creating more strategic cross-boundary fuels reduction. Wood products from fire risk reduction projects go to local mills such as Pyramid and Weyerhaeuser, as well as to post and pole yards. In 2020, SVC signed up 11 new fuels reduction projects with private landowners. Of those 11 projects, 3 were completed for a total of 15.5 acres treated. The remaining 8 projects under contract will reduce fire risk on another 205.5 acres, most of which will be finalized in 2021. SVC continues to offer free site visits to evaluate fire risk for private landowners in the Swan Valley and continues to sign up interested landowners in the cost-share program. SVC will also continue to pursue and apply for fire risk reduction grants as they become available. Interested landowners should contact: Mike Mayernik, Conservation and Stewardship Associate Swan Valley Connections (406) 754-3137, mike@svconnections.org
MISSOULA COUNTY WEED DISTRICT AND AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES DISTRICT
Perhaps the biggest update from Missoula County Weed District is that we have created a new (and first in the state) County Aquatic Invasive Species District. The purpose of the district is to assist with clearly defining the role that the county plays in the prevention, survey, and education efforts within the boundaries of Missoula County. Our highest priority is a strong emphasis on coordination and collaboration with
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local watershed groups, state and federal agencies, and the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes. The AIS District will be undertaking planning efforts in early 2021 to develop an operations plan and will be reaching out to our partners to help identify the highest priority outcomes the district will be providing to the citizens of Missoula County. The Clearwater Junction Watercraft Inspection Station was extremely busy this year. The station ran from April 15-Oct 18 and inspected just under 35,000 watercrafts. The busiest day was July 3rd, with just under 700 watercrafts inspected. This is compared to last year’s record of 21,420 inspections. This trend is consistent with all the stations and with what other recreational managers experienced. We were fortunate to not intercept any major mussel boats, but statewide, 35 musselfouled watercrafts were intercepted (another record!). MCWD was petitioned by the Flathead National Forest to list fragrant water lily as a county noxious weed. We have also initiated a study of fragrant water-lily in Missoula County. We will be looking into its genetic characteristics, impacts on the water systems it infests, and management tools (including herbicide trials) and their subsequent impacts. This summer we installed herbicide trial treatment plots on Salmon Lake, Black Lake, and Blanchard Lake. We will be monitoring the efficacy of the herbicides, as well as any residual presence and impacts of the herbicides. The Weed District provided a handful of matching weed grants to landowners in the Swan Valley in 2020. This will be the last year of the in-county landowner grant program. We will be working with interested landowners on other grant opportunities such as the Noxious Weed Trust Fund and FWP Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program. We will continue to support collaborative approaches to noxious weed control through our various resources.
Lindsey Bona-Eggeman, Weed Management Coordinator Missoula County Weed District (406) 258-4219, lbona@missoulaeduplace.org
Backtracking a Canada lynx during the 2020 carnivore season
SOUTHWEST CROWN COLLABORATIVE
The Southwest Crown Collaborative (SWCC) is a group of local partners, including Swan Valley Connections, that works closely with 3 local districts of the Forest Service, including the Swan Lake District, Seeley Lake District, and the Lincoln District. Our primary interests are in Forest Restoration, Fire Management, and Monitoring as these were the objectives of the USDA’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program started in 2010. We’ve recently completed the 10year funding cycle for the CFLRP program, and will continue working with the Forest Service moving forward. With the end of the CFLRP program many of our monitoring projects are busy wrapping up and links to those reports are provided here. Recent SWCC Activities: • The SWCC has been very involved in the Mid-Swan Landscape Restoration Project since its inception and we provided comments on the draft EIS released this past fall. • Meso-carnivore monitoring funded through the SWCC is continuing throughout the SW Crown, including in the Swan Valley, January-March 2021 and also in 2022. • New Monitoring Reports: » Monitoring Social Outcomes of Forest Management in the SW Crown » Status of Swan Valley River Cutthroat Populations and Conservation Recommendations » Assessment of Wildlife Habitat for the SW Crown » Recommendations for Road Restoration BMPs for Weeds More exciting monitoring results should be available in the coming months, so watch our webpage for those, including new reports/publications from our meso-carnivore monitoring, stream flow and sediment monitoring, fire manager surveys, and economic impacts monitoring. We will also be hosting our final Adaptive Management Workshop (virtually) in late winter; watch our webpage for details. If you’d like to learn more about the SWCC or our monitoring program, visit our webpage www.swcrown.org. Also, let us know if you’re interested in becoming a member! Cory Davis, Coordinator Southwestern Crown Collaborative, Research Associate Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana (406) 471-3314, cory.davis@umontana.edu
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Electroshocking at Smith Creek VITAL GROUND
USFS - FISHERIES
My focus in the Swan River valley in 2020 was to continuing to “hold the line” against invasive species. While they are beautiful, we have to understand that brook trout are not native and invasive. A few years ago we installed small barriers in Smith Creek and Red Butte Creek to block any further invasion of brook trout and preserve the cutthroat trout upstream. There already were some brook trout upstream, so I have been rounding them up and moving them below the barrier. This takes stubborn determination and a backpack electrofisher with a handful of volunteers. We are getting close to the finish line. I think there are less than 40 brook trout in Red Butte Creek and less than 20 in Smith Creek. I hope to keep pushing on this in 2021. I am also concerned about the spread of non-native fragrant waterlilies. This is a pretty plant but highly invasive. It has choked out many acres of lakes in the Clearwater valley but in the Swan River valley, it is only found in Holland Lake so far. COVID wrecked our plans to have a tribal crew hand-pull the lily but we still did some high priority work here and there. Missoula County shares our concern and has formally declared this plant to be a noxious weed. Hopefully 2021 will see more effort. Using eDNA surveillance for invasive zebra mussels was greatly trimmed back in 2020 due to budget cuts. But the Swan Lakers did partner with me to sample Swan Lake. I’d prefer to sample all the lakes, but at least we covered the highest priority. Looking ahead to 2021, I anticipate we will be focused on assessing the health of our remnant cutthroat trout populations in the Swan River valley. This will be a collaborative effort with lots of players. We will be focusing on the population size, genetic purity and status of brook trout invasion. Beth Gardner, Fisheries Biologist U.S. Forest Service (406) 837-7508, beth.gardner@usda.gov
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The Vital Ground Foundation had a busy and productive 2020 despite the unforeseen impacts from Covid-19. This past year marked the second year of our One Landscape Initiative to permanently protect and connect the wild strongholds in our region. To support this effort, we produced a short video that details our vision and showcases the projects and landowners that are making this a reality. Although we did not see any conservation projects completed in the Swan Valley in 2020, the final days of 2019 did bring with it our most recent local conservation easement protecting an additional 200 acres in the Elk Flats area. In addition to stewarding our existing conservation easements, we continued to explore new opportunities to work with private landowners interested in voluntary conservation easements throughout the valley. We’re hopeful that 2021 will bring with it new conservation projects protecting habitat for grizzly bears and other wildlife, while also preserving the rural character and working lands of the Swan Valley. Vital Ground continued our support for efforts to prevent conflicts between bears and people through our Partners Grant Program. In 2020 we provided Swan Valley Bear Resources funding to help with the purchase of bear-resistant garbage cans, wildlife fencing, and outreach events. Our 2021 Partners Grant application period opens again this March. We invite and encourage innovative applications that support efforts to prevent human/bear conflicts. For more information about the Partners Grant Program or to visit with us about a conservation easement please visit our website www.VitalGround.org or contact us at (406) 549-8650. Mitch Doherty, Conservation Program Manager The Vital Ground Foundation (406) 549-8650, mdoherty@vitalground.org
SWAN LAKERS
During 2020 the Swan Lakers continued our program of boat inspections looking for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). These inspections take place at the U.S. Forest Service launch ramp on the south end of Swan Lake. Our volunteers inspected 654 watercraft to assure they were not carrying AIS. Happily none of the inspected boats were fouled with AIS. In theory, any boat coming to Swan Lake from outside of the Flathead Basin should already have been seen at any of a number of inspection stations en-route. However, Montana does not operate its inspection stations 24/7. Thus, the risk is present, however slim, and our inspections will continue. We have also continued our program of sampling and testing the waters of Swan Lake. Historically, we have noted a sag in dissolved oxygen (DO) in the south basin of the lake. Our testing in October disclosed that the sag is still there. The bottom reading was about 5% DO. Anything below 10% is considered bad. Swan Lake was below 10% from a depth of 34 meters to 37.45m (bottom). DO levels of below 3mg/L are lethal for trout. In October the DO was below the 3mg/L threshold from 27m down to the bottom. Thus, the bottom 33 feet of Swan Lake are lethal for trout. The cause of this is unknown, although we speculate that outflows from the Swan River may be involved. Other parameters (water nutrients and algal) continue to be good. We will continue our program of testing and sampling in 2021. Michael Wallace, President Swan Lakers mbw4971@gmail.com
MONTANA FWP - FISHERIES
Swan Lake continues to be the focus of much of our work in the Swan drainage. Lake trout populations in Swan Lake, Lindbergh Lake, and Holland Lake are increasing and represent a threat to native fish throughout the Swan drainage. FWP has been working closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop alternatives to reduce the lake trout population in Swan Lake. While no lake trout suppression has been occurring in Swan Lake since 2016, FWP has developed additional lake trout monitoring that will help evaluate lake trout trends for the future. This data will be helpful in evaluating future suppression activities. Lake trout trend data since 2016 indicates that the lake trout population is still increasing. Bull trout monitoring continues throughout the Swan drainage. Juvenile bull trout population estimates are conducted annually in four tributaries and the data shows relatively stable numbers of juvenile bull trout. Unfortunately adult bull trout abundance does not have the same trend. Adult bull trout abundance is estimated by redd count surveys in spawning tributaries. Basin-wide redd count surveys have been conducted annually since 1995 and the recent trends depict a population roughly 50% of what was observed in the late 90’s-early 2000’s. This decline in abundance is likely due to lake trout establishment in Swan Lake. FWP has been working with the University of Montana and the MPG Ranch to remove non-native brook trout and rainbow trout from Cooney Creek to protect native westslope
cutthroat trout and bull trout. The existing culvert where Highway 83 crosses Cooney Creek acts as a partial barrier, but rainbow trout and brook trout have both been observed passing the barrier. Discussion is now turning toward the creation of a selective barrier on the MPG property to protect areas upstream from non-native reestablishment. Leo Rosenthal, Fisheries Biologist Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (406) 751-4548, lrosenthal@mt.gov
Mid-Swan Project tour
USFS MID-SWAN LANDSCAPE RESTORATION AND WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE PROJECT
The Mid-Swan planning team finished 2020 reflecting on a busy and productive year. As we welcomed our new forest supervisor and team leader, Joe Krueger, to the mix, we continued moving this project forward amidst a year of widespread wildfires throughout the nation. This large and destructive fire year served as an important reminder of the need to restore our landscapes and protect communities, now more than ever before. In late August we published our draft EIS, culminating years of work from many individuals and public input since the project’s conception. This launched a 45-day public comment period where we received over one-hundred letters from partners and individuals interested in the Swan Valley. Additionally, we hosted two virtual open houses and developed an interactive Story Map on our website. This input has focused our efforts into the new year as we refine the proposed alternatives and move toward a final EIS and draft record of decision, expected in summer 2021. We look forward to seeing the decision implemented in the fall of 2021 and continue to work with and listen to our partners and residents of the Swan Valley in this important restoration work across the landscape. The draft EIS, Story Map, and additional resources can be found on the Mid-Swan Project’s website at http://bit.ly/ midswan; questions can be directed to Joe Krueger at joseph. krueger@usda.gov. Joseph Krueger, Team Leader U.S. Forest Service joseph.krueger@usda.gov
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USFS - FIRE MANAGEMENT
The Swan Lake Ranger District has had a very active year in the Swan Valley. Currently there are 4 timber sales associated with 3 project areas and a valley wide thinning and prescribed fire project being implemented. Beaver Stewardship is a restoration project in the Beaver Creek and Upper Swan River watersheds. It includes over 1500 acres of prescribed burning, 1000 of which is located at the head end of Lindbergh Lake on Lindy Ridge, over 1200 acres of commercial harvest, whitebark pine restoration, and numerous road and hydrology improvement activities. Cold Jim Stewardship is a fuels and forest health driven project consisting of over 900 acres of commercial harvest activities, thinning, wetland restoration, shrub planting, and road improvement activities in the Jim and Cold Creek watershed within the Wildland Urban Interface Glacier Loon Project area consists of the Swan Flats and Lunar Kraft Timber Sales in the Upper Swan River and Kraft Creek watersheds. There is commercial harvest and thinning occurring on over 1400 acres primarily in the Wildland Urban Interface. Swan Valley Bottom Maintenance Burning Project is occurring on the east side of the Swan Valley on approximately 1200 acres. This year due to Covid-19 and weather windows we were not able to implement any of the prescribed burning, but we were able to get 300 acres of handpiling and 300 acres of thinning accomplished. The handpile work can be seen from the Swan Highway around Pony Creek and along the Lion Creek Road. Andre Du Lac, AFMO- Fuels, Battalion 12 USFS Swan Lake Ranger District (406) 837-7547, andre.dulac@usda.gov
CONFEDERATED SALISH & KOOTENAI TRIBES
The Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) own three separate parcels in the Swan Valley, which were purchased to mitigate native fish habitat impacts from Hungry Horse Dam. The first of these parcels is the east half of Section 35, west of Condon, containing the confluence of Elk Creek and the Swan River. Since 2007, CSKT and Swan Valley Connections (SVC), who owns the west half of Section 35, have co-managed the section as the Elk Creek Conservation Area (ECCA). Throughout 2020, the CSKT Fisheries Program worked closely with our partners at SVC and in the Elk Flats Road community on projects within the ECCA. Rusty Sydnor, Restoration Botanist with the CSKT Fisheries Program, participated in a volunteer workday, organized by SVC in July, to protect recolonizing riparian vegetation with fencing within a portion of the Swan River floodplain. This area was logged by Plum Creek Timber Company approximately 30 years ago. The CSKT Fisheries Program was also able to contribute funding to have noxious weed populations treated with herbicides in late July along Elk Flats Road and other spur roads throughout the ECCA. Rusty Sydnor and Seth Makepeace, CSKT Senior Hydrologist, also contributed to planning efforts by the Elk Flats Road Co-op to
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Rusty Sydnor, Restoration Botanist Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (406) 250-2113, rusty.sydnor@cskt.org
make necessary repairs and improvements to the Elk Flats Road bridge that crosses Elk Creek. Finally, CSKT also owns two contiguous parcels along Woodward Creek south of Swan Lake. One of these parcels has several buildings located on it which are slated for removal. Rusty Sydnor worked with local fire officials back in the summer to have local firefighters burn the structures down as a training exercise. Given the challenging fire season, we did not have a suitable window for burning this past fall, so we are planning to do this work in the Spring of 2021.
SWAN VALLEY BEAR RESOURCES
The mission of Swan Valley Bear Resources (SVBR) is to offer community resources to promote coexistence between people and bears. SVBR is a working group formed by a collaborative effort between Swan Valley Connections (SVC) and community members in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and other bear-related organizations and businesses. The purpose of this collaborative effort is to pool resources, experience and expertise, and to address bear conflicts on private and public property in the Swan Valley. SVBR focuses on a spectrum of private property projects geared toward providing interested property owners with materials, information, and conflict response to create site-specific solutions for securing bear attractants and minimizing risk of bear conflicts. Some ongoing examples of SVBR collaboration with private property owners include providing advice on securing bear attractants, loaning bear-
Electrifying a grain shed that a grizzly had gotten into.
resistant garbage containers, helping build electric fences around attractants, removing animal carcasses, and helping pick ripe fruit from trees. SVBR administers a Bear-Resistant Garbage Container Loaner Program within the Swan Valley. The program allows community members to check out bear-resistant garbage containers for free and on an indefinite basis, with a suggested donation. In 2020, SVBR distributed 31 bear-resistant garbage containers to Swan Valley residents. Currently, 303 containers and 28 dumpsters are being used by community members or businesses as part of the program. SVBR has an electric fencing program that assists residents with the entire process, including site identification, fence design, technical specifications, help to secure funding sources, purchase of materials, and final hands-on fence construction. In 2020, SVBR assisted five residents with construction of permanent electric fences. Three of the five locations had previously experienced bear conflicts, while the other two landowners wanted to proactively secure their attractants before any conflicts occurred. SVBR also helped four landowners repair their electric fences that had been damaged by fallen trees. We offered fencing advice to three additional landowners, who then built their own electric fences. SVBR has now completed 31 permanent electric fence projects in the Swan Valley that have secured chickens, turkeys, ducks, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits, bees, miniature horses, outside chest freezers, livestock grain, orchard trees, compost bins, and gardens. We host two annual informational and educational events, aimed at promoting human-bear coexistence. In 2020, due to COVID-19 concerns, these public events had to be cancelled. In lieu of the Spring Wake Up Social, SVBR created a video that showcased various bear attractants, methods or tools to contain those attractants, and different resources available to help. The video was shared on Swan Valley Connections’ website and social media, reaching over 7,000 people. In lieu of the Bear Fair, SVBR hosted a virtual Zoom presentation by wildlife biologist Kari Eneas of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The presentation focused on grizzly bear ecology and conflict management, and it was well attended by 125 people. SVBR also partnered with the Living with Wildlife Foundation and local resident Kathy Koors, who visited
local USFS developed and dispersed campsites, picked up garbage, and provided visitor education about containing bear attractants and Leave No Trace camping ethics. Campsites received unprecedented use during 2020, and Kathy provided bear-related information and education to over 500 visitors. SVBR provides outreach and updated information through SVC’ website https://www.swanvalleyconnections.org/ swan-valley-bear-resources/. We also have bear spray for sale at the Condon Work Center and have inert cans available to practice with. Overall, in 2020 there were few bear conflicts in the Upper Swan Valley and no known mortalities. The Swan Lake and Ferndale area received higher levels of reported conflicts, and SVBR will continue to expand conflict prevention efforts into those communities in the future. Luke Lamar, Conservation Director Swan Valley Connections (406) 754-3137, luke@svconnections.org
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
Within the Swan River Watershed, the USFWS has continued work on a multi-year effort to restore the wetland hydrology on Swan River National Wildlife Refuge. This project has enjoyed continued progress through the assistance of Swan Valley Connections and local business River Design Group, Inc. Project advancements in 2020 included: completion of the wetland restoration engineering design plan, submitting a North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant request, and completing the Draft EA which will be released for public comment early in 2021. There are a few very important tasks yet to be completed this coming year before construction can begin, including releasing the EA for public comment and approval, surveying cultural resources of the project area, completing a Biological Assessment, and writing a wetland delineation report and a few permit applications. We did receive exciting news in mid-December, when the North American Wetlands Conservation Council met and recommended our NAWCA grant to be funded this spring. With this great piece of news, we anticipate wetland restoration work could start this late-summer and run through early-winter of 2021.
Jim Lange, Wetland District Manager U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (406) 727-7400, jim_lange@fws.gov
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NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID CONDON, MT PERMIT #16
6887 MT Hwy 83 Condon, MT 59826-9005
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
upcoming events
Please check our website or call (406) 754-3137 for the most up-to-date information, including COVID-19 protocols.
January 30
Wildlife Tracks & Sign Class
February 3
March 3
Moose Zoom Presentation with FWP Biologist Nick DeCesare
Alpine Stream Insects Zoom Presentation with USGS Entomologist Joe Giersch
March 20
February 13
April 7
Wildlife Tracks & Sign Class
February 27
Wildlife Tracks & Sign Class
Trail Camera Workshop SVBR Wake-Up Social Zoom Presentation (guest speaker TBD)
April 15-16 & 17-18
Wildlife Tracking Specialist and Standard Certifications With David Moskowitz and Casey McFarland