Salish 1

Proposing Salish Mountains Wildlife Corridor Much needed

Fixing 100 years of eliminating Vital Ground /Migration routes that bridges two Grizzly Bear Recovery Areas.…..but they aren't connected!

Above: This hill top is in Flathead National Forest, your looking west at barn, and only 1/2 mile onward away into Salish Mountains -Tally Lake area. That far ridge is a Grizzly Core area, Cabinet-Selway-Bitterroot or Kootenai-Yaak, Idaho.

This is a big game funneling area, concatenated Wildlife crossing to and from here. Wildlife pushed thru here by urban sprawl, tourism, logging, farms, and the elimination of the last animal friendly river bottom with canopy forested areas.

Wild life have migrated this route here to the other side of valley for thousands of years. Glacier National Park and the North Fork is about 15 miles behind this spot. Were standing in the Glacier Grizzly Core area on this hill top, looking into another core.

Look at the map! The Busy Highway 93, Farm to Market Road, Stillwater River all congregate together here.. and the Forests, Timber, National Forests and State Forests canopy funnel the wildlife at this vital Corridor and migration route.

Salish Mountains Montana Wildlife

Here big game cross highway 93 through the fields from national forests and state forested land, then cross this valley onward to Cabinet-Yaak Mountains.

Looking west over Stillwater River bottom, into Salish Mountains, Tally Lake, Flathead National Forest land.

Our Driveway, US Highway 93 the problem

Vital Habitat, old wildlife migration route between the Glacier Park’s west slope and the Idaho panhandle,. Yaak. Kootenai, Cabinet Mountain’s Grizzly Core Area.

Vital local funneling spot around Swift Creek, Whitefish Lake, through Beaver Lakes into upper Flathead Stillwater River bottom.

Regional funneling way south around the Kootenai Dam that backs water north 71 miles north into Canada. and then there's this road block... The Flathead Valley, suburbia, another 130 miles south to Missoula, busy congested carnival or zoo of population.

That leaves a 41 mile gap between Canada and Yellowstone the Grizzly can sneak out of the rocky mountains East to West. And that is filling in with subdivisions- population, logging. There is a small mountain pass if you look at the map. North of Whitefish. Funneling from upper whitefish– North Fork area to the Salish Mountains east to Idaho.

Stillwater River dead center of Corridor

Purchasing fragmented habitats for imperiled species including the grizzly bear, lynx, wolverine, pine martin, fisher. The purchased habitat will help meet the recovery goals for this species by providing critical connectivity of landscapes to the Cabinet-Yaak ,Selway-Bitterroot Recovery areas and long-term protection of Grizzly and all Sensitive Species.

“the Lonely Barn” on US 93, is in the center of the deadly Highway crossing. Its also the narrowest point in the valley forested, in a direct line migration route between the two Grizzly Core Areas. You’ll see this Barn in many pictures for that reason.

Sept. 2011, 5 deer killed here crossing that month.

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Fawn 2012 trying to cross Highway 93

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Corridor includes westerly to Star Meadows

Center of Corridor Crossing highway 93 to go west to Salish Mountains

Tally Lake, area looking east Whitefish Range Glacier Beyond

Beaver Lake North,

scheduled to be logger 2013

This is the only open area in this naturally funneling, forest canopy area it’s 1/4 mile dash from one national forest across busy highway 93 to another national forest.

Beaver Lake North, scheduled to be logger 2013...last place for with thick canopy

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This is where wildlife come to... the corridor

Beaver Lake South logging 2009

This is scheduled to be logger 2013

Beaver Lake North 2010

Video of area

When men began taking over the Montana Wilderness about 150 years ago this new wildlife migration route, the gene pool connectivity began to change… ever year losing little by little of the pathway...its snowballing. This Passage way is becoming more define. Grateful the majority of Wild, Woody places are saved-reserved as National Parks, Yellowstone& Glacier, National Forest Lands, State Forests and some Wilderness Areas, Bob Marshell, Scapegoat, Great Bear, Cabinet Mountains,

Salish Mountains Wildlife Corridor is becoming last 30-40 years the new natural funneling area, It’s also all that’s left of an ancient migration route, a full forested canopy exists here, to cross Northwest Montana to Idaho from Glacier park.

Last 70 years suburbia from Missoula to Whitefish north separates east from west migration State Washinton to Glacier

Wildlife crossing is naturally established, they prefer the quite woody, wilderness .

But now Wildlife are funneled by Civilizations, long large Dams, Parks, wide open logged off Forests and the noisy, dangerous human populated wild places. Ranches, fences, Reservoirs, Parks, Suburbia and increasing population but its not a safe place for wildlife sensitive or endangered species.

We cant stop most of it… We need to possibly stop logging this corridor migrating canopy and start setting aside migrating friendly land.

Establish, Dedicate this vital connectivity route between at least two Grizzly Bear Core Areas. Plan for a future animal bridge over deadly Highway 93 at this busy Salish Mountains corridor crossing.

Bring attention to the biologists and researchers that redirection of migration travel, barricades Libby Dam, stretching 70 miles north, int Canada, and southerly then Hungry Horse 130 miles directing north into Glacier and Upper Whitefish… then east into the Salish Mountains.

Flathead to Missoula suburbia... This was a major movement—migration area wildlife, they cant sneak through safely. Larger wildlife, Grizzly, are directed last mountainous pass into the Salish Mountains.

We believe we need to secure private land that connect the stepping stones for safe wildlife migration. We hope to persuade and convince with adjoining Federal, State and private forests owners to join us. Promote area conservation easements of real estate. Advocate the stop and loss of vital habitat near Stillwater River crossing.

We want to work with State and Federal Forest Service to stop or selectively log so we will not have to restore these vital forests canopy. The following several web pages of maps, pictures and commentary get into specify detail.

We ask National Forest Service, Region 1 and others for help. Lets make this wildlife corridor a wildlife friendly crossing and a safer migration route. We need the highway department, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, community, local industry, friends and neighbors cooperation.

Living and working this land since 1960’s we can help give back. I hope to keep land set aside for many generations helping, working to help local wildlife. Most everyone agrees but its not their priority, we need to organize.

help

A Northern Divide Grizzly Bear Project

Big game migrates or crisscrosses through our land to skirt the north end of busy Flathead Valley for access into the Salish Mountains or Whitefish Range. We are located between Glacier National Park and Idaho -Kootenai/ Yaak forests just South of Alberta and British Columbia. We are several miles North of Whitefish Montana, the edge of the urban sprawl. We have some of the last private forested, unlogged, unfenced land in this area. The area is getting more inhabited with industry, subdivided lots, homes and agriculture. Urban sprawl is encroaching everywhere Subdivisions are running amuck.

In 60 years we have seen an increased abundance of wildlife, endangered and non, living here and moving through. It’s been multiplying over the last 60 years. Not sure why but I have come to the conclusion the urban sprawl, Industry and people have affected this. Pushing the wildlife, concentrating it to here. We now have an abundance of wildlife bunching up when being pushed out of the natural wild canopy. The Wildlife is trying to make its way to the distant Salish Mountains by moving down out of the Upper Whitefish high country to cross the valley. We surly need Biologists to study this. Maybe Lance Craighead would be interested! What applies to Grizzly may also apply to the Whitetail, Wolverine, Martin, Lynx, and Wolves.

This web site is several pages of onsite pictures, pointing out a few of the problems, sum reasoning, wildlife encountered, land,-environmental changes. Highway, River, State and National linking forests with maps showing that it has gotten worse through the years. I believe if something isn't done now it may be too late. Because of increasing development, subdividing It will be to expensive 5 years from now, 15 years from now.

Please look at this and see if there's something or someone that can help us help the wildlife and heir habitat. Create an animal friendly corridor. We would like the National and State Forest agencies to partner with us. We also need to secure some more private lands before they are developed. Then restore the natural landscape a network of forest canopy interiors for movements of Grizzly to Pine Martin, Lynx to Cougar, Wolf to Wolverine and plan on an animal bridge to go over Highway 93, then through this half mile of upper Flathead Valley Stillwater River bottom. Soon while the land is still available!

Is there any Wildlife Habitat, restoration help available? Lets help wildlife cross between the two Grizzly Bear recovery areas at US 93.

I need to contact persons for help from the Flathead National Forest, Bonneville Power Line Co., Montana Highway Dept. Stillwater State Forest and of course all Wildlife agency's State and Federal, pretending to care about wildlife and protecting forests, habitat and wildlife. Also like to invite some wealthy individual's to purchase some the network of lands to allow the stepping stone to cross this valley. Kerry R. Hubble 2011

They have to migrate through Tally Lake logged area