Eastern Segment 



Emphasis during the study was placed upon the coyote and 

 beaver. Data were not obtained on other mammals or reptiles and 

 amphibians. (The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks' 

 nongame and endangered species program designed a priority rating 

 system to identify key nongame species. A list of possible 

 species that may be on the study area is presented in Table 13.) 

 None of these species was observed during the study. 



Coyotes are plentiful throughout the study area, and they 

 are the primary f urbearer-predator that hunters and trappers 

 seek, as the price of their pelt remains high. Controversy con- 

 tinues to surround the coyote, as some people want to protect 

 them and other people want to eliminate them. Data obtained 

 during the study clearly show that large numbers of coyotes 

 (one local hunter took nearly 500 pelts in the 1978-79 winter) 

 are being harvested, and coyote populations continue to remain 

 at high levels. Hunters and trappers don't appear to be able to 

 substantially affect the coyote population. 



The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks initiated 

 two intensive research projects investigating coyotes in the 

 Missouri River Breaks adjacent to this study area. One project 

 studied the coyote and the other project focused on the coyote 

 and its effect on mule deer fawns. Current results can be found 

 in Montana Deer S tudies , Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife 

 and Parks, 1976, 77, 78 and 79, Projects W-120-R-7, 8, 9 and 10, 

 respectively . 



Beaver are primarily found along the Judith and Missouri 

 rivers. The Missouri River islands, with their cottonwood-willow 

 vegetation, are the primary habitat used by beaver, as over half 

 the beaver caches counted were observed on islands (Table 14). 



Aerial beaver cache counts have been conducted along the 

 Missouri River and Judith River by C . R. Watts, Montana Depart- 

 ment of Fish, Wildlife and Parks' biologist, during the period 

 1976-79 (Table 14) . Numbers of beaver caches on both rivers 

 declined in 1978 and 1979. The severe winters of 1977-78 and 

 1978-79 appear to have had a detrimental effect upon beaver, as 

 dead beavers were observed after each winter. 



The major threat to beaver would be dam building on the 

 Missouri River. Wherever a dam is erected, the resulting reser- 

 voir would destroy beaver habitat. 



44 



