Ensuring Diversified Funding into the Future by Passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies assembled a panel of 26 national business and conservation leaders in 2015 to recommend a new mechanism to conserve all fish and wildlife. Known as the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources, the group recommended Congress dedicate up to $1.3 billion annually in existing revenue from the development of energy and mineral resources to the Wildlife Conservationand Restoration Program. These funds would be awarded to state wildlife management agencies for wildlife related conservation, recreation and education projects. In Montana, the funds would be used to more fully implement State Wildlife Action Plan prioritiesincluding on the ground conservation for a broad diversity of species and habitats. Federal House Bill 5650 “Recovering America’s Wildlife” act was introduced during the fall of 2016 then reintroduced in December 2017. If passed and fully funded, the federal act could bring over$29 million dollars annually to Montana but $10 million in non-federal match would be needed each year. Proactive and partner based projects will be critical to ensure the best use of these funds but prior to that a broad based effort to pass the act is needed. Wildlife enthusiasts, business owners, developers, researchers and others will be needed to argue it is in everyone’s best interest to keep wildlife and habitat healthy, keep species from being federally listed, and maintain outdoor education and recreation opportunities

Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2016: What Passage of the Act May Mean to You

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies organized a panel of 26 national business and conservation leaders in 2015 to examine the current system of conservation funding and recommend a new mechanism to conserve all fish and wildlife.  Known as the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources, the group recommended Congress dedicate up to $1.3 billion annually in existing revenue from the development of energy and mineral resources to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program.  These funds would be awarded to state wildlife management agencies for wildlife related conservation, recreation and education projects.  In Montana, the funds would be used to more fully implement State Wildlife Action Plan priorities including on the ground conservation for a broad diversity of species and habitats.  Federal House Bill 5650 “Recovering America’s Wildlife” act was introduced during the fall of 2016 but needs to be reintroduced in 2017.  If passed and fully funded, the federal act could bring$22 million dollars annually to Montana but $7 million dollars in non-federal match will be needed each year.  Proactive and partner based projects will be critical to ensure the best use of these funds but prior to that a broad based effort to pass the act is needed.  Wildlife enthusiasts, business owners, developers, researchers and others will be needed to argue it is in everyone’s best interest to keep species from becoming federally listed and to keep wildlife and habitat health

2014 Statewide Winter Owl Surveys (Oral Presentation and Poster)

Localized winter owl surveys have been conducted in Montana in the past, but a coordinated statewide effort had never been undertaken.  Eleven owl species were, therefore, listed as Species of Highest Inventory Need by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and the Montana Natural Heritage Program.  We coordinated statewide winter owl call surveys in 180 of the 185 quarter latitude/longitude (QLL) blocks that encompass Montana.  Call transects each consisted of 10 call stations spaced at 1-mile intervals along a 9-mile long road transect within a QLL block.  At each call station, observers alternately silently listened for owl calls and played owl calls for species likely to occur in the surrounding habitat.  A total of 1,829 call stations were surveyed and a total of 511 owls across 11 owl species were detected.  Detections during the 2014 surveys nearly, or more than, doubled the number of records with indirect evidence for breeding that have been gathered in Montana across all time for Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared Owl, and Short-eared Owl.  We recommend that these species and the Northern Saw-whet Owl be removed from the Montana Species of Highest Inventory Need as a result of the information gathered during these surveys

2014 Statewide Winter Owl Surveys (Oral Presentation and Poster)

Localized winter owl surveys have been conducted in Montana in the past, but a coordinated statewide effort had never been undertaken.  Eleven owl species were, therefore, listed as Species of Highest Inventory Need by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and the Montana Natural Heritage Program.  We coordinated statewide winter owl call surveys in 180 of the 185 quarter latitude/longitude (QLL) blocks that encompass Montana.  Call transects each consisted of 10 call stations spaced at 1-mile intervals along a 9-mile long road transect within a QLL block.  At each call station, observers alternately silently listened for owl calls and played owl calls for species likely to occur in the surrounding habitat.  A total of 1,829 call stations were surveyed and a total of 511 owls across 11 owl species were detected.  Detections during the 2014 surveys nearly, or more than, doubled the number of records with indirect evidence for breeding that have been gathered in Montana across all time for Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared Owl, and Short-eared Owl.  We recommend that these species and the Northern Saw-whet Owl be removed from the Montana Species of Highest Inventory Need as a result of the information gathered during these surveys

Keeping Common Species Common: Inventory And Monitoring For A Diversity Of Wildlife Species

Many of the over 500 vertebrate species found in Montana lack formal status assessments. Few monitoring efforts exist for these species and very few are statewide to include public and private lands. In 2008, the Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks designed a protocol for simultaneous multi-species survey. We sampled quarter-quadrangle grid cells selected at random over 3 yrs and covered the entire state. We surveyed all lentic sites for amphibians and all south-facing rocky slopes for reptiles within each cell. We also surveyed dominant habitats for bats using acoustic detectorsand small-mammals using standard trap line techniques. The largest challenges included: securing private landowner contact information and permission, automating map creation for the hundreds of selected cells, the preservation of collected specimens, maintaining working acoustic equipment in inclement weather, housing and backing up huge amounts of data from remote locations, and analyzing large quantities of acoustic data. Small mammal and acoustic call identifications are ongoing. A preliminary summary of other data shows an investment of over 20,000 person hours for a total of: 211 grid cells surveyed, 40 small mammal species detected in 2486 captures, 16 bat species detected through thousands of acoustic calls, 12 amphibian species and eight reptile species detected, and 304 species detected as incidental observations. We intend to conduct occupancy modeling for many of the species detected using the grid cells as site. We discuss prospects for using this sampling scheme and methods for future monitoring

Bat Use, Human Visitation, and Environmental Attributes of Cave Hibernacula in Montana

Across the eastern United States, caves historically supported large aggregations of overwintering bats. In contrast, few large aggregations have been observed within caves in Montana. To collect comprehensive information on cave use by bats and inform White Nose Syndrome surveillance, we inventoried caves to estimate numbers of hibernating bats, assessed the microclimate within hibernacula, monitored activity of bats using acoustic detectors, and quantified visitation by people using trail cameras. In collaboration with recreational cavers, state, and federal biologists we conducted over 300 structured and incidental surveys at 99 caves.  Only 6 caves had counts exceeding 100 individuals, and our largest hibernacula had approximately 1,700 bats. The mean annual temperature and humidity across 16 caves averaged 5.0°C and 100% RH. At the 6 largest hibernacula, we established year round baselines of bat acoustic activity and quantify visitation by people. We found that both the number of people entering caves and bat activity within caves peaked in summer. During the winter, visitation appears largely dependent on accessibility of the cave and all monitored caves had low levels of bat activity. Caves in Montana appear to support relatively few aggregations of overwintering bats. Although we have visited most known caves in the state, the number of hibernating individuals we observed is likely orders of magnitude less than the total number we presume overwinter in-state. Future projects should explore the use of cracks, crevices, talus, and badlands to identify other important hibernacula

Black-Footed Ferret Recovery: Things are Looking Up!

The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is considered one of the most endangered mammals in the world. Hindering the success of recovery efforts is the presence of Sylvatic Plague and a general intolerance of the ferrets primary prey, the prairie dog. To date, the only tools against plague at reintroduction sites have been vaccination of ferrets prior to release, application of pesticides, and translocation of prairie dogs into sites following an epidemic plague event. In addition to the high cost of plague management, ferret recovery is hampered by loss of habitat to sod-busting and development and ESA regulations that make landowners wary of finding or hosting a listed species. However, in recent years, innovative approaches to plague management, prairie dog conservation and ESA regulation have laid a new path for ferret recovery across Western states. These approaches include the following: 1) An MOU signed in 2012 by the USFWS, NRCS, USGS, Wildlife Services, and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies facilitating cooperative conservation efforts with willing landowners to maintain ranch land in prairie habitat and the livestock operations that they support while providing for the conservation and recovery of wildlife species associated with prairie dogs, 2) Development of a safe harbor agreement that would provide regulatory assurances to land owners willing to allow ferret re-introductions, and 3) Development of a sylvatic plague vaccine meant to be dispersed at ferret reintroduction sites. Successful implementation of these new tools could result in ferret recovery within the next decade

Volunteer Contributions to Montana's Statewide Bat Monitoring Project

Over the last two years, the State of Montana has established a network of passive acoustic monitors to study bat activity patterns at selected locations throughout the state. These monitors, many of which are in remote areas, record bat calls each evening of the year. Their purpose is to document the number and species of bats as a function of time and location, with the intention of generating a statewide database on bat activity. These data could serve as an “early warning system” for the appearance of white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal infection caused by Geomyces destructans that is ravaging bats in eastern portions of North America. WNS has not been detected in Montana, so the data being presently collected can be considered to be representative of bat behavior in the absence of the disease. A noticeable change in recorded bat activity could be an early indicator of the arrival of WNS. Whether or not WNS reaches Montana, the network is generating an extensive knowledge base about Montana’s bats that will help address a variety of management issues. The Montana caving community has provided help in installing and maintaining the bat monitoring network and in recording observations about bats. Cavers are familiar with the state’s caves, are experienced in working safely in caves, and have an interest in cave biota and the welfare of bats. They are well-suited to assist in a number of capacities, including maintaining the monitoring equipment, recording observations of bats, identifying hibernacula, and installing data loggers. This talk will describe volunteer activities around the state and the partnership between cavers and state organizations to increase the effectiveness of the bat monitoring project

Baseline Indices for Calling Amphibians and Western Toads Across Montana

Amphibian populations are undergoing global decline, and nearly one-third of the world’s amphibian species are threatened.  Structured surveys can use a variety of invasive and noninvasive techniques to assess the status of a species while repeatable surveys allow for longterm monitoring to identify population trends.  To establish baselines for species occupancy and indices for abundance we conducted two projects to inventory amphibians during May and June of 2016.  We conducted roadside calling surveys for species that advertise breeding through calls and lentic surveys at known breeding locations of the Western Toad (Anaxyrus boreas).  Roadside surveys were broken into west and east regions based on species distributions.  We detected two species at seven of the eight western transects, Pacific Tree Frog (Pseudacris regilla) and American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus).  The Pacific Tree Frog was identified at 19% of the stations sampled, but at low densities.  In the east, we detected five species of amphibians at 18 of the 19 transects, Boreal Chorus Frog (P. maculate), Northern Leopard Frog (L. pipiens), Great Plains Toad (A. cognatus), Woodhouse’s Toad (A. woodhousii), and Plains Spadefoot Toad (Spea bombifrons).  The Boreal Chorus Frogs were most commonly detected (39%) followed by Woodhouse’s Toad (13%) and Plains Spadefoot (12%).  Of the 76 sites we surveyed for Western Toad, 63% had evidence of breeding.  These surveys can be used as primary indices for future surveys to determine trends in abundance and occupancy through time and inform state status ranks

Bat Use of Bridges in Missoula, Ravalli, and Mineral Counties in Western Montana (Oral Presentation and Poster)

Many North American bat species are declining as populations face increasing pressure from disease and degradation or loss of habitat. Bats roost in natural and artificial structures with adequate crevices. It is important to document the structural and thermal characteristics of these roosts across the landscape in order to provide natural resource managers with tools to protect and conserve these species. Bat use of bridges has been well documented in the southwest United States, but bridges in northwest Montana were not surveyed because temperatures were thought to be insufficient for bats. This lack of knowledge was the basis for our survey of roadway bridges in Missoula, Ravalli, and Mineral Counties. In May-October 2014 we visited 412 bridges and categorized them as day roost, night roost, maternity colony, or no detectable use. We detected widespread use of bridges (45.9%) as night roosts used between foraging flights. Bats were detected in day roosts at a smaller number of bridges (2.7%) with use ranging from solitary bats to hundreds of females and offspring. Bridge type and structure appear to be significant in predicting bat use, and initial temperature data indicate that day roosts have a slightly higher temperature regime than unoccupied bridges. Survey and bat detection information is available to resource managers via the Montana Natural Heritage Program’s MapViewer web application (http://mtnhp.org/mapviewer). In consideration of the potential importance of these artificial roosts to bat species, we encourage the evaluation of roadway bridges for bat use prior to maintenance or replacement activities