Map from the AWL GIS Lab

In 2001, a male grizzly bear wandered into the Ninemile Valley of westcentral Montana. He rummaged through garbage cans at houses and camps in the area, crossed the Clark Fork River and Interstate 90 a few times, and finally ended up on someone’s front porch in the small town of Alberton. This last event earned him a death sentence after he was deemed habitualized to people. If the grizzly had continued south, he would have soon reached the vast Selway- Salmon ecosystem—a prime habitat believed to be devoid of grizzly bears.

The Ninemile Valley has been a challenge for more than just grizzly bears. Well-known author Rick Bass chronicled the troubles a local wolf pack experienced in his book titled “The Ninemile Wolves.” In the last few years, several black bears have been killed trying to cross Interstate 90. In addition, a well-worn game trail leads ungulates to an animal-vehicle collision hot-spot at the base of Cayuse Hill, also on I-90.

Restoring a Wildlife Linkage

What makes these wildlife losses particularly troubling is that, according to American Wildlands’ analysis of the region’s most important wildlife corridors, the Ninemile area is one of the best corridors linking the Crown of the Continent ecosystem to the northeast, the vast protected lands of Idaho’s Salmon-Selway ecosystem, and the Cabinet- Yaak ecosystem to the northwest. It is a critical corridor for animal movement—but one that is highly complicated by a major highway, a railroad, and by rapidly developing private lands.

To address this problem, six years ago American Wildlands initiated conversations with a local land trust and a federal biologist to discuss opportunities for maintaining wildlife movement in the area. These early conversations, and support from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Linkage Task Force, eventually resulted in the formation of a group of local landowners that came together to identify the key wildlife movement areas across I-90.

Cayuse Hill abuts Interstate 90 in Montana's Ninemile Valley, and is a hotspot for wildlife-vehicle collisions.

A dozen residents met regularly for six months to map out, based on local knowledge, where wildlife was crossing the interstate highway. The working group shared their information with agency decision-makers and county commissioners, in hopes it would lead to some improved opportunities for wildlife to safely cross I-90. As group leader Eleanor Danesh tells it, “A few months after we finished the mapping, three bears were killed at the base of Cayuse Hill in six weeks. Working group members decided to come together again to protect our movement corridors in the face of onrushing development and increasing traffic.”

This renewed focus has resulted in a multipronged strategy that is concentrated on maintaining and improving the quality of wildlife movement areas on public and private lands in the Ninemile Valley, and across nearby I-90.

Success Story

To date, the working group has successfully raised the profile of the Ninemile Wildlife Corridor, and improved opportunities for wildlife to safely cross I-90. At the group’s urging, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) moved some fencing along the highway so that it now funnels wildlife beneath two bridges that span the Clark Fork River—keeping animals off I-90 and out of the path of fast-moving vehicles. The state transportation department has also addressed the road-kill hot spot on Cayuse Hill by moving a highway sign so drivers could more easily see wildlife coming onto the highway from the previously mentioned prominent game trail, and by placing “Wildlife Crossing Next ½ Mile” signs on either side of the highway.

These efforts make the Ninemile area safer for wildlife and motorists. “My hat’s off to the citizens group here at the Ninemile,” said Pat Basting, an MDT biologist. “They were people working together to get it done.”

With progress being made on the highway issue, the working group has expanded its scope to protect wildlife movement opportunities on public and private lands in the Ninemile area. Regarding public lands, the group is currently working with the U.S. Forest Service to maintain wildlife movement along the two mountain ranges that ring the Ninemile Valley. On private lands, the group is working with state wildlife managers on a sanitation project to [1] identify where bears are getting into people’s garbage; [2] purchase bear proof garbage cans for local residents to use, and [3] inform residents about the availability of these bear-proof cans where the greatest problems have occurred.

Finally, the working group is developing a brochure for residents of the greater Ninemile area about the benefits of maintaining historic wildlife movement as well as talking with local land trusts about how they can play a role in protecting these wildlife movement areas.

The Ninemile group’s commitment to finding solutions on private lands, public lands, and highways is an excellent example of how local citizens can work together for the good of our native wildlife. American Wildlands is proud to be a member of the Ninemile working group, and is happy to provide both logistical and financial support ($100/month) to the group. The success of the working group has further emphasized that conserving the integrity of our regional landscapes depends on engagement at the local level.