MISSOULA — The grizzly bear Lingenpolter became locally famous a few years ago after his GPS collar showed he attempted to cross Interstate 90 at more than 40 locations.
Now, recent land purchases and easements near the highway will help the Lingenpolters of the future make similar attempts more safely.
On Monday, two conservation organizations — the Missoula-based Vital Ground Foundation and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative — announced that they had joined forces to preserve two land parcels near Missoula that are critical for species trying to cross I-90.
Then, about 60 miles from Missoula in the opposite direction, Yellowstone to Yukon was able to buy the Brock Creek Project, a 50-acre parcel on the north side of the interstate near Phosphate Road. According to a homes.com listing, the Brock Creek property has an estimated value of $346,000.00.
One end of the property is adjacent to an old railroad spur where it runs beneath the interstate, creating another ready-made wildlife crossing. Animals traveling along the Clark Fork River on the south side of the interstate can pass under the highway to the property now owned by Vital Ground. From there, they can traverse the Garnet Range to reach the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem and vice versa.
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Five years ago, when Lingenpolter left the Northern Continental Divide and struggled to cross the interstate, the Brock Creek property was one of the sites where it appears he made an attempt. A year later, he was finally able to cross the highway west of Drummond and then wandered south into the Sapphire Range. So grizzlies are showing the routes they want to travel.
“We’ve had grizzly activity there off-and-on for the last 8-10 years,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear biologist Jamie Jonkel. “So much of it is driven by the berry load; it’s such a productive river bottom there with chokecherry and serviceberry. A bunch of bears come down to feed on the berries, and once they’ve cleaned up the north side, they start thinking, ‘How do I get to the other side?’”
Vital Ground’s ownership of the Brock Creek property — dotted with cottonwoods near the highway and scrubby evergreens in a small drainage and on the hill — will allow opportunities for habitat restoration projects and potential improvement of the highway underpass.
As developers continue to buy up and subdivide important open land, driving prices up, it's ever more difficult to save what remains of critical wildlife corridors. Now, when opportunities arise, one organization is usually hard-pressed to take advantage. So Yellowstone to Yukon provides the major funding and logistical support while Vital Ground serves as the land trust partner.
“The Brock Creek and Nellie Creek projects are more examples of the strong partnership between landowners, Vital Ground and (Yellowstone to Yukon),” said Eric Greenwell, Yellowstone to Yukon senior connectivity specialist. “As we look to the future together, we need to make smart decisions and investments to balance the shared space of wildlife corridors and roadways. These projects near I-90 are those smart investments.”
The Nellie Creek Project also received a significant donation from the Cinnabar Foundation while the Brock Creek Project received funding from Atira Conservation and the Heart of the Rockies Keep It Connected Program.
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.
