State Wetlands Workshop:

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Montana Wetlands Legacy Voluntary Partnership
Solution

• State Wetlands Workshop
• An Examination of Best Practices
• Post SWANCC
• October 22, 2002

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From the time the Corps of Discovery crossed
Montana, until the Corps of Engineers was charged
by the Clean Water Act to protect Montanas
wetlands, the state lost an estimated 300,000
acres of wetlands.
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Of the plants and animals of Montana listed as
threatened, endangered, or are candidates for
listing, 18 of 21 are wetland/riparian obligates
or need wetlands and riparian areas for some part
of their life cycle.

• -Rob Hazlewood, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
  Helena

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Montana Wetlands LegacyGoal Statement

• The goal of the Montana Wetlands Legacy is to
  ensure protection of Montanas wetlands, riparian
  areas, and associated uplands by understanding
  and appreciating these special places and how
  they add value to our lives. As a first step, we
  commit to protect an additional 250,000 acres of
  ecologically important wetlands, riparian areas,
  and associated uplands by the year 2005.

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Montana Wetlands Legacy Partners

• American Public Land Exchange American
  Rivers
• Aquatic Design and Construction Bitter Root
  Land Trust
• Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Five Valleys Land
  Trust
• Flathead Land Trust Gallatin Valley Land
  Trust
• Montana Audubon Council Montana Department
  of Environmental Quality
• Montana Dept. Natural Resources and Conservation
  Montana Department of Transportation
• Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Montana
  Fish, Wildlife and Parks Foundation
• Montana Land Reliance Montana Natural
  Heritage Program
• Montana Natural History Center Montana
  Ranchers, Farmers other Landowners
• Montana Watercourse Pheasants Forever
• PPL Montana Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
• The Conservation Fund The Nature
  Conservancy
• The River Network The Trust for Public
  Land
• U.S. Bureau of Land Management U.S. Bureau
  of Reclamation
• U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service
  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• U.S. Forest Service Watershed Education
  Network

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• Montana Wetlands Legacy
• Completed Projects

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Palmer Acquisition Project Ninepipe WMA

• Location Lake County NE of Charlo
• Partners Bonneville Power Administration
• Pheasants Forever Mission Valley Chapter
• Big Sky Upland Bird Association
• Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
• Project Size
• 150 acres including 2 wetlands (6 acres) and
  remnant drained and filled wetlands
• Project Cost
• 450,000
• Species Richness
• Ring-necked pheasant, raptors including
  short-eared owl and northern harrier, Canada
  geese, dabbling ducks and other waterfowl,
  shorebirds, sandhill crane, bald eagle,
  peregrine falcon

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Opsata Conservation Easement Project

• Location Powell County 7 miles northwest of
  Ovando
• Partners U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
• The Blackfoot Challenge
• Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
• Project Size
• 64 acres of mixed native prairie and natural
  pothole wetlands
• Project Cost
• 160,000
• Species Richness
• Elk, mule deer, grizzly bear, 13 waterfowl
  species, long-billed curlew, black tern,
  sandhill crane, vesper sparrow

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Dean Ranch Conservation Easement Project

• Location Lewis Clark County 2 miles north
  of Lincoln
• Partners Five Valleys Land Trust
• Project Size
• 160 acres including 80 acres of palustrine
  wetlands
• Project Cost
• Donated easement
• Species Richness
• Bog birch, moose, greater sandhill crane,
  waterfowl, wading birds,
• tundra swan, nesting osprey and bald eagle, 3
  mated pairs of greater
• sandhill cranes, marsh wren, short-tailed
  weasel, mink,
• moose, elk, white-tailed deer, mountain lion,
  coyote, gray wolf,
• and grizzly bear

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• Montana Wetlands Legacy
• Current Projects

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Weaver Slough Conservation Easement Project

• Location Flathead County 8 miles east of
  Kalispell
• Partners Flathead Land Trust
• Bonneville Power Administration
• USDA NRCS Farmland Protection Program
• The Conservation Fund
• American Public Land Exchange
• American Farmland Trust
• Montana Agricultural Heritage Program
• Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
• Project Size
• 1,218 acres including 150 acres of riparian
  wetland and 200 acres open water
• Project Cost
• 2,436,000
• Species Richness
• Migratory waterfowl, wading birds, tundra swan,
  nesting or foraging osprey and bald eagle,
  pileated woodpecker, belted kingfisher, beaver,
  river otter, pheasant and wild turkey,
  white-tailed deer

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Bull River Watershed Protection Project

• Location Sanders County 12 miles southwest of
  Libby
• Partners Avista Corporation
• North American Wetlands Conservation Act
• The Conservation Fund
• Bull River Watershed Council
• U.S. Forest Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
• Project Size
• 716 acres
• Project Cost
• 2,340,000
• Species Richness
• Elk, moose, bighorn sheep, deer, lynx, osprey,
  eleven species of waterfowl,
• westslope cutthroat trout, grizzly bear, bald
  eagle, bull trout, neotropical
• migratory birds

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Obrect/BLM Wetland Restoration Project

• Location Blaine County 8.5 miles northeast of
  Turner
• Project Partners
• Obrecht Ranch
• U.S. Bureau of Land Management
• Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• North American Wetlands Conservation Act
• Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
• Project Size
• 16 sections with 135 drained wetlands, 95 acres
  restorable wetlands
• Project Cost
• 115,000
• Species Richness
• Northern pintail and mallard, as well as other
  waterfowl common to the area
• northern harrier, peregrine falcon, avocet,
  marbled godwit, Franklins gull,
• mule deer, antelope, plains garter snake,
  northern leopard frog, western
• chorus frog

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Opportunities on the Horizon

• North American Wetlands Conservation Act Senate
  and House Mark-ups of DOI FY03 Budget -43.5
  Million
• NRCS Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program for
  the Madison/Missouri Watershed - 40 Million
• In Lieu Fee Mitigation Program for Montana
  500K - 1M annually
• PPL Montana 2188 Mitigation for Operation of Nine
  Mainstem Missouri River Dams 10 Million

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I am in love with Montana. For other states I
have admiration, respect, recognition and even
some affection but with Montana it is love, and
it's difficult to analyze love when you're in it
." John Steinbeck, Travels with Charlie
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