Bull River: a new Wildlife haven.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people from several organizations, more than 3 square miles (7.8 sq. kilometers) of outstanding fish and wildlife habitat are now under conservation management in northwestern Montana. Recently, Avista Corporation, The Conservation Fund, Plum Creek Timber Company and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks completed a conservation agreement on more than 1,800 acres (728 hectares) of land formerly owned by Plum Creek and Genesis Mining Company. The result was the creation of the Bull River Wildlife Management Area (WMA), which is to be managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The Bull River WMA was formally dedicated in May 2005.

This new management area is located strategically between the East and West Cabinet Mountains in the headwaters of Bull River and Lake Creek drainages. It encompasses wetlands, bull trout habitat, and an important migration route for big game and large carnivores.

The project preserves the integrity of vitally important stream habitats for native bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi); maintains a wilderness linkage that allows grizzly bears, lynxes, bald eagles, gray wolves, fishers, and other wide-ranging wildlife to travel between the two mountain ranges; provides an important winter range for elk, moose, and deer; and provides the public with opportunities for compatible recreational uses such as hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, horseback riding, and other non-motorized day uses.

The property is located approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Troy, Montana, along the watershed divide between the headwaters of the Bull River and the Lake Creek drainages. The area, which includes the confluences of the three forks of the Bull River and Ross Creek, provides a permanent conservation linkage between the East and West Cabinet Mountains.

The major habitat components of the new wildlife management area include a large wetland complex that feeds directly into the Bull River, a mile of the Bull River main stem, three-quarters of a mile of Ross Creek with a wetland near the mouth, a half-mile of shoreline on Bull Lake, as well as productive uplands and a boreal coniferous forest wetland. Avista will continue to manage their adjacent lands consistent with WMA objectives under the conservation easement. The new WMA is bordered on three sides by U.S. Forest Service property. An adjacent 40-acre (16-ha) parcel was acquired with partial funding through a grant to Avista from the North American Wetland Conservation Act program.

"This is an incredible example of a private timber company, a private utility company, a non-profit conservation organization, and State and Federal agencies working together for the benefit of wildlife," says Jim Williams, Regional Wildlife Program Manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Tim Swant, Avista Utilities Clark Fork License Manager, echoes that and adds, "Throughout the process the individuals focused on the desired outcome of protecting this important habitat, while being sensitive to each organization's needs."

In 2003 and again in 2004, the Fish and Wildlife Service awarded Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition grants to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to partially fund the project. These grants were available based on the species protection provided by Plum Creek Timber Company's Native Fish Habitat Conservation Plan. Plum Creek sold 1,164 acres (471 ha) of upland forest and wetlands to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. According to Jerry Sorenson, Senior Land Asset Manager for Plum Creek's Rocky Mountain region, the company is always happy to participate in any project that makes both conservation sense and business sense. "Plum Creek is very pleased with this conservation outcome."

To meet the HCP land acquisition grant requirement of a minimum 25 percent non-federal funding match, Avista Corporation and The Conservation Fund donated an adjoining 117 acres (47 ha), and the Avista Corporation donated a conservation easement on an additional 559-acre (226-ha) parcel.

"The preservation of more than 1,800 acres along Montana's Bull River represents a landmark achievement for all of the partners working to protect this spectacular landscape," said The Conservation Fund's president, Larry Seizer. "Thanks to the dedication of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, and the commitment of Avista and Plum Creek, we are safeguarding some of the nation's most important wildlife habitat and enhancing recreation areas for future generations."

The total market value of the project is $4.61 million. The new Bull River WMA will have minimal impact on property tax revenue to the local counties. For lands owned in fee, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks makes annual payments to the counties that equal the property taxes on equivalent private property. For lands subject to a conservation easement held by Montana, the landowner continues to pay the same property taxes as prior to the conservation easement. Already a superb management area in its own right, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks sees future expansion opportunities for the Bull River WMA.

Mark Elsbree of The Conservation Fund summed up the project nicely: "When you reach for the stars, you'll never come up with a handful of mud. This time, we got the stars."

Robert Lee is a Fishery Biologist with the Service's Ecological Services office in Kalispell, Montana. He can be contacted at 406-758-6879 and [e-mail].