Bozeman Pass Conservation Timeline
Collaborative Conservation on Bozeman Pass: Activity and Accomplishment Timeline
Article about Gertrude Baker1991
Private Conservation Easement Bozeman Pass (Gertrude Baker, Gallatin Valley Land Trust) 181 acres placed into easement by landowner Gertrude Baker east of Frog Rock and south of Interstate 90. This is the first easement brokered by GVLT. The land is located in the heart of one of the main wildlife corridors in the Pass. Wildlife using the habitat includes elk, moose, bobcat, cougar, black bear and coyote. ( See GVLT's current easements in the Bozeman Pass area)
1996
Regional Corridors of Life Model (American Wildlands) Research and analysis of habitat in the Northern Rockies identified Bozeman Pass as a critical wildlife corridor connecting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Yellowstone National Park and land surrounding) and the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (Glacier National Park and the land surrounding). (Download our 2006 Corridors of Life report which describes the history and methodology of the model)
2001 – 2002
Bozeman Pass Wildlife Corridor Identification Project (Craighead Environmental Research Institute, American Wildlands) Analysis of the fine scale wildlife movement areas within the Bozeman Pass Wildlife Corridor was conducted using computer modeling techniques. (See the results which identified four high quality wildlife movement areas between Bozeman and Livingston)
2001 - 2007
Public Lands Activity (American Wildlands, Gallatin National Forest, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Trust for Public Lands) Through participation in the Gallatin National Forest Travel Plan, motorized vehicle use in the Bear Canyon area was reduced. In addition, Trust for Public lands completed a deed of 220 acres of private lands adjacent to the existing Forest Service near Frog Rock.
2001 – Present
Bozeman Pass Wildlife Linkage and Highway Safety Study (Craighead Environmental Research Institute) Obtained 25 years worth of roadkill data from the MT Department of Transportation, and began collecting roadkill information year round, three times weekly, to identify accurate roadkill locations and actual wildlife movement areas along I-90 between Bozeman and Livingston. Roadkill information was combined and superimposed on predicted wildlife movement areas in the Bozeman Pass Wildlife Corridor project. (Download the CERI/AWL 2001 ICOET report)
2002
Development of Bozeman Pass Working Group (American Wildlands) Members of the working group included MT Fish Wildlife and Parks, MT Department of Transportation, US Forest Service, and Western Transportation Institute biologists, local conservation group representatives from Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Trust for Public Lands, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Wildthings Unlimited, American Wildlands, CERI, and private citizens. The working group was developed to evaluate conservation needs on Bozeman Pass for public and private lands and the highway. (Read an article about the working group published by the Billings [MT] Gazette)
2002
Launch of Major Land Conservation Project (Trust for Public Lands & Gallatin Valley Land Trust) TPL secured option from private landowners Hugo and Shirley Schmidt to protect approximately 2,050 acres straddling Interstate 90, between the Bear Canyon and Trail Creek exits.
2002
Trail Creek Private Land Protection (Park County Environmental Council) Garnered Park County support opposing increasing human development pressures on private lands in the Trail Creek area. 1000+ acre subdivision proposal was dropped after opposition was voiced.
2002
Identification of Highway Wildlife Mitigation Location (Bozeman Pass Working Group) Based on the computer modeling results and roadkill data, as well as MTFWP expert opinion, a highway mitigation opportunity for improving wildlife movement was identified within the wildlife movement area near the Bear Canyon highway exit (between mileposts 313 and 315). The mitigation site chosen is located at milepost 313 at the MT Rail Link highway bridge. A highway bridge re-build was planned by MDT, coinciding with a CERI-identified area of high roadkill (location had a greater than average number of moose, deer and bears killed than the rest of the pass).
2003
Funds from Congress for the Bozeman Pass Wildlife Channelization Project (MT Department of Transportation) Senator Baucus helped the working group obtain $250,000 of federal dollars based on a MDT funding request. The money was designed to protect wildlife crossings within one of the key wildlife corridors, at the Bear Canyon Exit, 5 miles east of Bozeman. The Western Transportation Institute and the Craighead Environmental Research Institute were contracted to conduct the pre and post wildlife movement monitoring. American Wildlands and WTI were funded to conduct a survey of driver attitudes toward wildlife and warning signs. WTI was funded to study effects of speed on reaction time and animal-vehicle collisions using a driving simulator. (Click here for a list of road ecology publications and reports by the Western Transportation Institute)
Trackbed photo by Jolene Adams2003 – 2006
Wildlife Pre-fencing Evaluation Study (Craighead Environmental Research Institute, Western Transportation Institute, MT Department of Transportation) Monitoring project performed through a collaborative effort to collect pre-fencing wildlife movement. This included installing motion sensor cameras in culverts near the MT Rail Link bridge underpass and a wildlife monitoring tracking bed underneath a railway underpass near the Bear Canyon Exit. Volunteers and Bozeman Pass Working Group members were involved.
2004
Donation of Land Easement for Education (Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Montana Outdoor Science School) Gertrude Baker's eased property is deeded to Montana Outdoor Science School for science education. The property continues to function as an excellent wildlife habitat for elk, moose, bobcat, black bear, coyote and cougar.
Roadkill Hotspot GIS Analysis by CERI (click for larger view)2005
Roadkill Hotspot GIS Analysis (Craighead Environmental Research Institute) Four years of roadkill data were analyzed using spatial statistics. Hotspots, or areas of statistically significant higher roadkill, were identified in several places between Bozeman and Livingston (Link to hotspots analysis).
2006
Citizen-based Zoning Passed for Bozeman Pass Area (Private Citizens, Sonoran, Greater Yellowstone Coalition) Zoning protected 20,000 acres (31 sq miles) from high levels of residential development (zoning restricts housing densities to 1 house per 40 acres and 1 house per 80 acres) and coal-bed methane. The zoning will ensure the rural agricultural character and wildlife habitat are maintained. Click here for a map of the zoning district. (Read a Bozeman [MT] Daily Chronicle article about the citizen-based zoning)
Map of Bear Canyon Fencing by American Wildlands (click for larger view)2006
Bear Canyon Fencing Construction (MT Department of Transportation) Built 0.7 miles of fencing were built to keep wildlife from crossing the interstate. The fencing guides wildlife to use the MT Rail Link bridge underpass, culverts carrying Rocky Creek under I-90, or the Bear Canyon Road that runs underneath the highway at Bear Canyon Exit.
2006
Completion of Conservation Easement Purchase (Trust for Public Lands & Gallatin Valley Land Trust) TPL purchased conservation easement on 1,240 acres on the north side of Interstate 90 from Hugo and Shirley Schmidt and conveyed it to Gallatin County, using $800,000 in funding from the Gallatin County Open Space Program. The easement, valued at $3.9 million, was immediately assigned to GVLT for long-term monitoring and enforcement.
2007
Land Purchase (Trust for Public Lands, SW Montana Climbers Coalition) TPL purchased 810 acres on the north and south sides of Interstate 90 from Hugo and Shirley Schmidt, immediately conveying 245 acres to the United States for inclusion in the Gallatin National Forest. Another 170 acres, which include a popular local rock climbing area, will likely be donated by TPL to the Gallatin National Forest sometime in the next two years. The remaining 395 acres will continue to be owned by TPL, which is still hoping to secure enough federal funding to make a follow-up conveyance to the United States possible. (Click to visit SW Montana Climbers Club website)
MT Rail Link Underpass - photo courtesy of CERI2006 – 2010
Three-year Post-fencing Monitoring Project (Western Transportation Institute, MT Department of Transportation, Craighead Environmental Research Institute) Post-fencing portion of study perfomed by CERI to compare pre-fencing data on roadkill, trackbed crossing and remote camera information with post-fencing data. Trackbed re-constructed at MT Rail Link bridge underpass. Remote cameras installed at fence ends and culverts. Trackbeds and motion sensor counters installed at wildlife jump-outs. A half season of data indicates no bears, or other wildlife, aside from one great blue heron, killed at the fencing mitigation site at the bear canyon exit.
2008 - 2010
Bozeman Pass Safe Passages Campaign (American Wildlands) Public awareness campaign initiated to heighten awareness of the Bozeman Pass Wildlife Corridor, as well as highway and wildlife related needs and issues. The campaign includes a student billboard contest, I-Spy citizen science wildlife movement project, and high school data analysis project to demonstrate problems and solutions dealing with wildlife movement and transportation systems.
