climate, abundance of food, and cover distribution, home ranges for male 

 grizzly bears in northwest Montana can range from 60 - 500 mi" (Waller 

 and Mace 1997). The search for food drives grizzly bear movement, with 

 bears moving from low elevations in spring to higher elevations in fall, as 

 fruits ripen throughout the year. However, in their pursuit of food, grizzly 

 bears can be negatively impacted through open roads (Kasworm and 

 Manley 1990). Such impacts are manifested through habitat avoidance, 

 poaching, and vehicle collisions. 



The project area is approximately 32 miles SW of the Northern 

 Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzly bear recovery area. In recent years, 

 there have been unverified reports of grizzly bears in the Fish and Pettee 

 Creek drainages (J. Jonkel, MT FWP, personal communication, September 

 2003). The nearest known grizzly bear activity in 2003 is located 

 approximately 16 miles NE of the affected area. Although no known 

 activity has been reported for the affected area, future use of the area by 

 grizzly bears is possible. 



Grizzly bears are known to be more vulnerable to human interaction in 

 areas with high open road densities or ineffective road closures. Currently 

 there is approximately 1 .0 mile of open road per square mile (simple linear 

 calculation; 286 miles of open road), and 3.11 total miles of road per 

 square mile (883 miles of road), within a 284 square mile (182,045 acres) 

 grizzly bear analysis area (Appendix C: Figure C-1). With construction 

 and re-construction of approximately 1.2 miles of new road under the Fish 

 Creek Road project, and construction and re-construction of 6.1 miles of 

 road in sections 5, 6, 8, 16, 17, and 18 open road density would not 

 increase, due to installation of locked gates to restrict motorized access on 

 the affected road system. Total road density would increase from 3.11 to 

 3.13 miles per square mile. 



3.2.3.1.2 Gray Wolves 



Wolves were recently classified as threatened in Montana under the 

 Endangered Species Act. Cover, and road and prey densities likely have 

 some influence on wolves. Currently, there is approximately 1.0 miles of 

 open road per square mile (simple linear calculation) within a 284 square 

 mile area surrounding the project area (Fig. 1). Three wolf packs are 

 known to have activity centers within a twenty mile radius of the affected 

 area: (1) Fish Creek, which is located in the Fish Creek drainage; (2) 

 Lupine, to the south in Idaho; and (3) Ninemile, on the north side of 

 Interstate 90. With the prevalence of deer, elk, and moose in the affected 

 area, it may be attractive for foraging by wolves (U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service 2002). Mule deer, elk, and moose are known to use the area. The 

 affected area is known to contain winter range for white-tailed deer, mule 

 deer, elk, and moose. Currently, no known wolf den or rendezvous site is 



Fish Creek Salvage Environmental Assessment 3-18 



