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NONGAME ACTIVITIES 



Montana law defines nongame wildlife as "any wild mammal, bird, amphibian, 

 reptile, fish, mollusk or crustacean or other wild animal not otherwise 

 legally classified by statute or regulation of this state" (Sec. 26-1802 

 (6) R.C.M. 1947). Since endangered species are classified as such, by 

 federal and state statute, they are not considered "nongame" for the 

 purposes of this section. 



Approximately 75 percent of the total program effort has been aimed at 

 nongame species. Activities have included information and education 

 efforts (Flath 1977b and 1978b), research, management and survey and 

 inventory. 



Prior to determining management procedures for any one form of nongame 

 wildlife, one must recognize that these actions affect other nongame 

 species in various ways. For this reason it is desirable to select those 

 species which are most in need of consideration, and at the same time 

 relegate the needs of widespread, abundant and secure species to a lower 

 priority. 



A priority rating system (Anon. 1975) was developed to aid identification 

 of those species which should be given "first" attention. These forms 

 of nongame wildlife have been designated as being of "special interest 

 or concern." If the needs of these species are met and their welfare 

 is safeguarded, the integrity of the nongame wildlife community should 

 be generally secure. 



County and Latilong inventories of these selected species have been 

 published separately (Skaar 1975, Flath 1977a, 1978a). Since new know- 

 ledge is acquired so rapidly, it is necessary to revise the inventories 

 each year. As an example, the 1978 version incorporates 151 changes 

 from the 1977 version. New information is compiled on a continual basis 

 and incorporated into the inventories each January. 



Mammalian Studies 



Prairie Dog Investigations 



Status of the white-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys teueurus) in Montana 



The white-tailed prairie dog is a peripheral species in Montana, reaching 

 the northern limits of its range in southern Carbon County. The only 

 published references to the species' occurrence in Montana were by 

 Hollister (1916) and Hoffman and Pattie (1968). Prior to present 

 investigations the status of the species in Montana was completely 

 unknown . 



The objectives of this study were to (1) identify the range of the species 

 in Montana, (2) estimate current population levels, and (3) identify 

 potential threats to the continued existence of the species. 



