© Paul Queneau, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation


This "Living With Wildlife: Missoula Elk Herds" brochure summarizes information on the herds (1 megabyte Acrobat file).
Missoula's Elk Herds

Volunteering

The North Hills elk herd has an easier time getting around its winter range and is finding fewer weeds in some areas, thanks to the work of many volunteers.

Volunteers have ...

(click on photos to enlarge)


Volunteers have removed several miles of unneeded barbed wire from the winter range of the North Hills elk herd, making it easier for the herd to get around
(Bert Lindler photo).

... pulled unneeded barbed wire from fences on the herd’s winter range in Sawmill Gulch (in the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area) and on the adjoining National Wildlife Federation and nearby private lands.


This trail wasn’t made by cattle, but by North Hills elk that jumped the fence before this 25-foot wide gate was installed during the spring of 2007. The pits on either side of the gate are where the elk jumped and landed
(Scott Nicolarsen photo).

... installed elk passage gates on private ranchlands between Grant and Butler Creeks. These gates can be closed during the spring, summer, and fall when cattle are in the pastures, and left open during the winter when the area is most heavily used by elk.
   


The foreman of the Grant Creek Ranch joins Prospect Meadows homeowners to rebuild a section of fence on the subdivision boundary. The new section of fence is easier for wildlife to cross. The top wire is just 42 inches high and is smooth, making it easier for elk to jump. The bottom wire is 16 inches from the ground, making it easier for elk calves and deer to slip under (Bert Lindler photo).

... helped ranchers maintain fences that elk knock down each winter, often to standards that are easier for elk and deer to negotiate but that still hold cattle.


These homeowners from the Colorado Gulch subdivision are pulling common toadflax blossoms to prevent the plants from setting seed. Later that fall the patch was sprayed with herbicide to kill the plants (Bert Lindler photo).

... helped pull Dalmatian and common toadflax to prevent small infestations from spreading by seed (because toadflax spreads by its roots, hand pulling is not the complete answer).
   
More Volunteer Photos! (click on photos to enlarge)

HoundstonguePull2009-Photo1

A houndstongue pull ...

 HoundstonguePull2009-Photo2
 

 

and a winter wire pull, too!

 

If you would like volunteer to help with these types of projects [see "Summaries" below], please call or send an e-mail message to:

Bert Lindler
542-7645
blindler@montana.com

Scott Nicolarsen
369-1169
snicolarsen@msn.com

Summaries
         
2007 Volunteer Summary
 
Fencing
More than two dozen volunteers contributed 270 hours.
  • Installed five gates in ranch fences that can be opened to allow elk passage during the winter. The gates will be closed when cattle are in the pastures.
  • Removed several miles of barbed wire from fences in Sawmill Gulch in the Lolo National Forest. These fences were left over from the days before these ranches became part of the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area.
  • Removed the last of the barbed wire in fences between the National Wildlife Federation’s elk winter range and the adjoining national forest lands in Sawmill Gulch.
Weed Pulls
A dozen volunteers contributed nearly 140 hours.
  • Pulled houndstongue and some Dalmatian toadflax on the National Wildlife Federation’s elk winter range in Grant Creek and on the property of an adjoining landowner.
  • Pulled Dalmatian toadflax along Grant Creek Road between the Town Pump service station and Glen Eagle Way.
  • Pulled houndstongue on national forest lands in Sawmill Gulch.
  • Pulled houndstongue along Grant Creek in the Prospect subdivision.
  • Monitored biocontrol insect releases on National Wildlife Federation lands.
 
[back to "Summaries"]
2006 Volunteer Summary
 
Fencing
More than 100 volunteers contributed 475 hours.
  • Removed barbed wire from three parallel fences (each about 1/3 mile long) between the National Wildlife Federation property and Grant Creek Road.
  • Removed barbed wire from two miles of fence along the boundary between the National Wildlife Federation property and the Lolo National Forest.
  • Removed three strands of wire from 1/4 mile of five-strand fence between the National Wildlife Federation property and the Lolo National Forest, replacing rotten posts with metal posts (two strands left in fence to discourage forest users from trespassing on portions of the National Wildlife Federation property close to private homes).
  • Removed barbed wire from about 1/4 mile of fence along the boundary between the National Wildlife Federation property and the Colorado Gulch Homeowners Common Area.
  • Removed barbed wire from three 1/4-mile sections of fence in Sawmill Gulch.
  • Installed about 1,000 feet of wildlife-friendly four-strand fence (top wire smooth, 42 inches from ground, bottom wire 16 inches from ground, second wire 1 foot from top wire) along the boundary between the Grant Creek Ranch and the Prospect Meadows Homeowners Association.
Weed Pulls
More than 20 volunteers contributed 190 volunteer hours.
  • Pulled nearly all toadflax infestations on the National Wildlife Federation lands, Lolo National Forest lands in Sawmill Gulch, Prospect Meadows, and along Grant Creek Road between the Sevenar and Glen Eagle Way; pulled some infestations several times.
  • Pulled houndstongue on the National Wildlife Federation lands, the property of two private landowners adjoining the National Wildlife Federation property, Sawmill Gulch, and Prospect Meadows.
 
[back to "Summaries"]