■ 





marten, often called the American Sable, Montana 



valuable fur bearing- animal. 



the Fish and Game Commission has instituted a 

 Fur Survey Project. 



FUR SURVEY PROJECT 

 Introduction: 



The area selected for intensive fur survey lies 

 within and immediately adjacent to the drainage 

 of the North Fork of the Flathead River. It is bound- 

 ed by Glacier Park on the east, the Canadian bor- 

 der on the north, and the Great Northern Rail- 

 road track on the west (see map). This area is pre- 

 dominately timbered and presents a variety of 

 types. Most important, however, are the heavy 

 stands of spruce and alpine fir growing at inter- 

 mediate and higher elevations, and the dense 

 growth of lodgepole pine coming in on the sites 

 of old bums. The terrain is steep to rolling, but 

 lacks the precipitous nature of the adjacent ranges 



within the boundary of the Park. The principal 

 fur species found in this region is the pine marten. 

 The Canadian lynx, beaver, mink, bobcat, otter, 

 fox and wolverine are also represented. The area 

 selected presents a typical fur management unit 

 which, throughout the years, has become com- 

 paratively unproductive due to heavy trapping. 



The objective of the work is, therefore, the 

 building up of the various valuable fur species 

 to the maximum capacity of the range, then to 

 allow the trapping not to exceed the yearly in- 

 crease. It is further planned to apply the informa- 

 tion obtained in this unit to others with the even- 

 tual objective of building the entire state up to 

 its maximum production of fur. The establishment 

 of a system of individual trapper units will be 

 an important phase of this work. 



[71] 



