UPPER YELLOWSTONE WATERSHED BASIN
Park Conservation District
General Membership Meeting
March 5, 2015 at 7:00 PM
St. John's Church, Emigrant
-MINUTES-
PEOPLE PRESENT: (26 people total)
Jessica Anderson, Coordinator
Karen Loveless, FWP
Marty Malone, Park Co. Commissioner
Gayleen Malone, Park CD
Jacquie Nelson
Dylan Graves, BSWC
Gary Libsack
Steve Libsack
Bob Weber
Gary Francis
Druska Kinkie
Ryan Neel
Jerhin
Chris Mahoney, NRCS
Jenny Jones, FWP
Dave Molebash
Martin Davis, Park CD
Alvin Pierce
Art Burns
Jon Springer
Jack Davis
Ryan Malone
Bruce Malcolm
Mark Rose
Edwin Johnson
Drew Scott, FWP
Art Burns called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m.
2015 ELK BRUCELLOSIS SURVEILLANCE PROJECT
Jenny Jones and Karen Loveless of Montana FWP gave a presentation
regarding the Targeted Elk Brucellosis Surveillance project and a postcapture summary. The study, conducted collaboratively with Montana
Division of Livestock, has occurred for the past five years across Southwest
Montana and is in its final year of operation. Jenny Jones, a research
technician working directly on the project, reported on the results thus far
and on the objectives and processes behind the project. Elk captured and
tested as seropositive are then monitored and tested for the following five
years as part of the program. The capture and testing has occurred
throughout a designated surveillance area (DSA), which has been moved by
DoL officials three times since 2010 due to study results indicating that
Brucellosis positive elk have moved outside current DSA lines. Elk that test
as seropositive are fitted with a monitoring collar for future tracking and
those that are pregnant are fitted with vaginal implant transmitters (VITs)
that alert FWP researchers to birth events. Once the VITs are expelled from
the elk, researchers can test any remnants of the birth on site for
seropositive results and determine whether transmission occurs from mother
to offspring.
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5242 Hwy. 89 South Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-2899 x111 or Jessica.Anderson@mt.nacdnet.net
UPPER YELLOWSTONE WATERSHED BASIN
Park Conservation District
This year’s captures occurred in the Mill Creek (HD 317) and North Absaroka
(HD 560) areas in Park County. Of the 63 individuals tested in HD 560, only
two resulted in seropositive tests, and both of which were fitted with VITs. In
HD 317, however, 16 of the 30 individuals captured tested seropositive, 11 of
which were fitted with VITs. The 53.2% seropositive result in HD 317 is much
higher than in other areas that have been tested and is a surprising result.
The individuals that tested seropositive will be tested annually for the next
five years and after five years, those that are still positive will be removed
from the population. A test for seroprevalence measures whether antibodies
to the bacteria are present in the individual, and, since it is possible to lose
antibodies over time, it is possible that some animals that tested positive at
the beginning of the study could test negative several years later.
The Montana FWP and DoL are hoping to use the data to create a
transmission risk model that will give a better understanding of brucellosis
risk in the areas surveyed. The model can help guide management of the elk
population and better protect ranchers and their cattle from wildlife
interactions and potential transmission. By tracking animal movement and
interactions within the herd, FWP is hoping to better track where elk are at
various times throughout the year. This will all be used by DoL and FWP to
guide management in the future.
2015 ELK MANAGEMENT HUNTS
Karen Loveless, wildlife biologist for FWP, gave an update on the Shields Elk
Management hunt for this year. The hunt harvested 393 elk, or
approximately 2.5 times the objective for the season. There are
approximately 4000 elk in the Shields as of the last count. 18 landowners
were enrolled in the program, which started right after the regular hunting
season ended in February. 119 antlerless elk were harvested, which is below
objective levels and is attributed to the warm weather. Paradise Valley has
not had to have a management hunt because the elk counts are at or below
objective levels. Burns asked what Loveless had hoped for and how it
compared to the actual results. Loveless responded that FWP wants to double
the harvest to stabilize the population, and would have to more than double
it in order to reduce the population. Drew Scott, a FWP game warden,
reported that the hunt was successful in lowering group numbers and
spreading them out, which makes future hunts easier to manage
successfully. He pointed to the fact that last year, the largest elk herd was
1200 while this year, the largest herd was ~400, meaning that the hunts
have been successful in dispersing individuals across the landscape.
In response to a question by Ryan Malone about over the counter tags,
Loveless responded that because the unit in question, 317, was at or below
objective, it would be hard to justify such a measure to sporting groups.
Additionally, because only 20-30 of the 150 tags were used, so getting all the
tags met is potentially more important than giving out additional tags.
2015 BLOCK MANAGEMENT HUNTS
Loveless also discussed the FWP block management program, which is widely
used in the Shields but has only one participant in Paradise Valley presently.
The block management program compensates landowners for letting hunters
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5242 Hwy. 89 South Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-2899 x111 or Jessica.Anderson@mt.nacdnet.net
UPPER YELLOWSTONE WATERSHED BASIN
Park Conservation District
onto their land, with payments ranging from ~$5,000 to a maximum of
$12,000, depending on the amount of land and number of hunters allowed.
Landowners control where and what hunters can hunt and how many hunters
they let on. The smallest block of land eligible for the program is generally ½
section. Drew Scott reports that hunters can find out about block
management sites on the FWP website.
ELECTIONS
It was decided that the group would hold off on elections until the following
meeting to look at the bylaws and determine whether they needed to be
updated prior to holding the election.
COMMITTEE UPDATES:
A. Weeds
Gayleen Malone provided the update, reminding those in attendance that
spring is a critical time for treating weeds. She also mentioned the need to
explore funding opportunities, including looking into grant money from
various sources. She also mentioned the Noxious Weed Trailer that the
South Central Montana Weed Council is purchasing, which will provide
educational resources on weed management for adults and youth in eight
counties in southern Montana.
Anderson reported the Park County Cooperative Weed Management Area will
hold its next meeting at 2:30 on March 17th in the conference room of the
Livingston USDA Building.
B. Irrigation Committee
No update provided.
C. Range Committee
Alvin Pierce asked whether the lack of Division of Livestock funding would
affect their ability to help fund the bleeding of cows. Druska Kinkie stated
that the DoL would still have money in the budget to fund the program. She
also advised to contact Alan Redfield or Eric Liska for more updates.
D. Stream Stabilization Committee
No update provided.
E. Wildlife Committee
No update provided.
F. Mill Creek Subcommittee
No update provided.
COORDINATOR UPDATES:
A. 2015 Park CD Banquet
Jessica asked for feedback on the Park CD banquet held in January at Music
Ranch Montana. Everyone enjoyed the location and the food and had positive
reviews of the event.
B. Park CD/UYWB/SVWG Website
Jessica made those in attendance aware of the relatively new Park
CD/UYWB/SVWG website and asked meeting attendees to review the site and
see whether they thought any changes or additions should be made to the
UYWB portion of the site.
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5242 Hwy. 89 South Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-2899 x111 or Jessica.Anderson@mt.nacdnet.net
UPPER YELLOWSTONE WATERSHED BASIN
Park Conservation District
C. 2015 BSWC Member:
Dylan Graves, Park CD’s BSWC AmeriCorps member for 2015, was
introduced. He moved to Montana from Michigan and is working with the
conservation district on a variety of projects through November. He is
presently planning the floodplain administration workshop along with Barbara
Woodbury.
D. Park CD/Park County Floodplain Administration Workshop
Graves and Barbara Woodbury, Park County Floodplain Administrator, are
planning a workshop for realtors and landowners in the community teaching
about floodplain permits and regulations and other related information about
permitting and water resource information in Park County. Park CD is trying
to work with the Montana Board of Realty Regulation to get the workshop
certified for continuing education credits that realtors need annually. We are
hoping to hold the workshop in May and it should last approximately 3-4
hours.
E. Spurline’s Wildlife Fencing Workshop
Spurline is hosting a wildlife fencing workshop to teach landowners about
affordable and low maintenance fencing techniques that can keep elk and
other wildlife from interacting with livestock and eating hay and pasture
grasses. The workshop will be held on March 19th at 1st National Bank in
Livingston.
F. Noxious Weed Trailer
Clay Williams and Tracey Mosley gave a presentation at the most recent Park
CD board meeting about the South Central Montana Weed Council’s interest
in an educational trailer that teaches adults and youth about noxious weed
management. They are hoping that the trailer will be available by this fall,
depending on funding sources and support.
G. Enhancing Montana’s Wildlife & Habitat v. Montana FWP Lawsuit
Update
There is no real update at this point about the lawsuit, although Loveless of
FWP noted that FWP is still free to do any risk mitigation for management
based on the elk brucellosis work plan.
H. UYWB Work Plan
Nelson mentioned that the work plan seemed out of date and that it should
be updated to reflect current trends and group interests. It was decided that
the best solution would be to have everyone review the work plan and
consider potential changes, then have the committee chairs meet separately
and discuss updates to the plan and make changes, as needed.
I. Facebook discussion
Nelson asked the group what they thought about creating a Facebook page
for the UYWB group. Most of the group members were only vaguely aware of
what Facebook was, and ultimately they decided that the Park CD group was
enough of a presence, since it mentions UYWB on the page.
AGENCY UPDATES:
Dave Molebash of NRCS gave an update of present snowpack in Park County.
High snow in the Upper Yellowstone Basin is presently at 100%, but snow at
lower elevations is at less than 100%. The Shields is only reporting 80% of
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5242 Hwy. 89 South Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-2899 x111 or Jessica.Anderson@mt.nacdnet.net
UPPER YELLOWSTONE WATERSHED BASIN
Park Conservation District
normal snowpack and is decreasing at a faster rate because the Shields
valley is not getting as much snow as Paradise Valley. Monument is at 100%
as compared to the average.
Marty Malone provided an update from the Park County board of
commissioners. Malone reported that burn permits are now available online
for $7.00 from the Park County website. Also, Redfield’s bison bill passed the
first day in committee, which would make FWP do range monitoring before
they turn bison out on private or FWP land. On a related note, Malone
recently attended a bison trap tour, and applauded Yellowstone Park for
being relatively aggressive with bison this year. Eight counties in Southern
Montana are working together on a timber collaborative, going on now.
Malone also reported that in the last ten years, the Forest Service has had
89,000 acres of forest land burned. Finally, he reported that the Secure Rural
Schools funding has been removed, which had contributed nearly 1/3 of the
county’s annual roads budget. Road funding will be tougher to accomplish
now, but is not nearly as bad as in Beaverhead County, where 90% of the
road budget came from this funding source. Beaverhead is cutting their road
department on July 1st. Malone finally mentioned that the commissioners
meet Monday through Thursday at 9 am, and that residents should call with
complains or ideas or attend the meetings.
Abby Nelson, Wolf Specialist with FWP, was not at the meeting, but provided
an update about the 2014 statewide wolf harvest. During the most recent
harvest, 77 were trapped and 127 were hunted, which was about the same
as last year. In wolf hunting unit 390, which includes Paradise Valley and
eastern Montana, 18 were hunted and 8 were trapped. The 2014 wolf survey
will be tallied by the first week of April, but early results suggest that there
were more wolves in Paradise Valley than last year. Finally, FWP darted and
collared one wolf in a wolf pack on Dome Mountain, which will assist with
counts and livestock conflicts in the future.
Loveless talked briefly about the 2015 elk surveys she completed in HD 313,
314, and 317. In HD 313, 3,586 elk were observed in a total of 69 groups.
201 bulls were counted, which should be considered the minimum number of
bulls in the population, rather than a total count. In HD 314, 3,381 elk were
observed, which is within the objective range for HD 314. Of those observed,
139 mature bulls and 63 yearling bulls were counted. In HD 317, 834 elk
were observed in 10 groups, including 50 bulls out of 363 individuals that
could be classified.
APPROVAL OF November 6th, 2014 MINUTES:
Art Burns made the motion to approve the November 6th, 2014 meeting
minutes. Alvin Pierce seconded and the motion passed.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Bruce Malcolm observed that when considering runoff and water availability
projections for the upcoming irrigation season, we often overlook soil moisture,
which can contribute to water availability. He has noticed that soil moisture this
year seems higher than usual, and that decreased snowpack often leads to this
increase.
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5242 Hwy. 89 South Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-2899 x111 or Jessica.Anderson@mt.nacdnet.net
UPPER YELLOWSTONE WATERSHED BASIN
Park Conservation District
Chris Mahoney of NRCS mentioned that the NRCS offers tools to measure soil
moisture and see how much water the soil can hold. The software for these
measurements is free through NRCS, but the monitoring hardware that needs to
be installed has costs associated. Nelson believes that there might be some soil
probes in the Park CD storage unit, so for landowners who wanted to measure
soil moisture content, they may just need updated software.
ADJOURN:
The meeting adjourned at 8:54 P.M.
Next Meeting: TBD
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5242 Hwy. 89 South Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-2899 x111 or Jessica.Anderson@mt.nacdnet.net