mature forests, wetlands and island habitats; and the structural/vegetative 

 diversity of cover types. 



SPECIES VALUE 



The species value emphasized three species categories: 1. critical 

 habitat for recovery of threatened or endangered species; 2. specially 

 designated wildlife habitats or habitats important to species of special 

 interest or concern in Montana; and 3. game and furbearer species 

 populations and/or critical habitats within the assessment unit. 



Federal or state listed threatened and endangered species included the 

 gray or rocky mountain timber wolf, grizzly bear, bald eagle, whooping crane, 

 peregrine falcon, and black-footed ferret. The mountain caribou was not 

 officially designated as a threatened or endangered species in Montana and, 

 therefore, was excluded from the assessment process. 



The second species category addressed vertebrate species of special 

 concern and specialized wildlife habitats considered unique and/or rare. 

 Emphases were placed on those species or habitat associated with the riparian 

 zone. The list was derived from Montana's list of Species of Special Interest 

 or Concern (Flath 1984) or the Montana Natural Heritage Program's current 

 list of Animal Species of Special Concern (Montana Natural Heritage Program 

 1987). Specialized habitats such as warm springs, waterfowl staging areas, 

 and great blue heron rookeries were recommended by resource cooperators. 



The game and furbearing species value utilized information gathered on 

 the relative abundance or habitat quality for 15 game and 6 furbearing 

 species. Maps prepared by MDFWP personnel in 1978 and updated in the early 

 1980's which indicated critical and seasonal ranges of most game species were 

 used in assigning most game species values. No distribution or habitat maps 

 were available for furbearers. 



RECREATION VALUE 



As previously mentioned under Category Description, the recreational 

 value was not used in the 1987 assignment of final value classifications. 

 Pending an update in this portion of the data base in 1988, a recreational 

 value stressing both consumptive and nonconsumptive wildlife values will be 

 added. 



The consumptive wildlife data collected in 1985 was based on 1983 harvest 

 statistics from the DFWP's annual telephone harvest survey. Statistics were 

 collected for four big game species or groups--deer (combined white-tailed 

 and mule deer), elk, black bear, and antelope. Three values assessed by 

 hunting district were modified from the hunter survey and applied to each 

 river assessment unit. These values included: total hunting pressure (hunter 

 days), hunter success (percent successful hunters), and percent non-resident 

 hunting pressure (percent of total pressure). Nonconsumptive values were 

 obtained by participants' evaluation of three criteria: nonconsumptive 

 wildlife/habitat oriented use (local, regional, statewide, national), 

 scientific/educational value, and aesthetics. 



