The Bears of Hall Mountain

By Kennon McClintock, North Idaho field representative

Several years ago, The Nature Conservancy purchased 320 acres of forestland at the base of Hall Mountain located in northern Boundary County, Idaho, just five miles from the Canada/USA border.

Hall Creek Forest. Photo by Lisa Eller/TNC.

This property, which was named the “Hall Creek Forest,” was destined to be subdivided — the long-term owners, who were exceptional stewards of this land for 40 years, had recently passed away and it had been listed with local realtors. It is a unique piece of ground with large trees, wetlands, spectacular mountain and valley views, located in the sunniest part of the county. This property shoulders up to Hall Mountain to the east which is mostly U.S. Forest Service forest lands. The Conservancy recognized the conservation values and was able to purchase it with the intent of placing a conservation easement on the property and eventually re-selling it to a like-minded buyer.

This low elevation property has a large, secluded, hardwood wetland, which provides quality habitat to a wide array of wildlife, especially bears: both black bears and the occasional grizzly bear. During the dry summer and fall months, there is readily available water and forbs — and bears are frequent visitors. Ample huckleberry patches can be found on Hall Mountain to the east, providing the main diet for the bears during summer and fall, and sustaining them during winter hibernation.

Remote cameras were placed in the wetlands and over the past two years we have taken many photos of bears – all black bears so far. There are many pictures of single bears, mostly browsing, climbing, and scratching on the cedar trees.

Images from Hall Creek Forest camera trap.

Surprisingly, many family units have shown up on film. This summer we had pictures of a mother and three cubs. The mother was teaching her offspring to climb a tree to seek safety and would continually push them up the tree from where she was standing. Most family pictures are of twins or single cubs, all practicing their climbing skills on these large cedar and cottonwood trees. In this part of Idaho, cubs can be subject to predation by other black bears, grizzly bears, and mountain lion, all which prowl on this property.

The Conservancy has been working with many private landowners in this part of Boundary County to acquire conservation easements in an attempt to keep the larger tracts intact and free of development.  These low-elevation valley lands, which offer water, food, security and thermal cover, provide important seasonal habitat for all types of wildlife. With the permanent protection of the Hall Creek Forest, the bears of Hall Mountain will always have a special place to come down to and visit. 

Conservation for People and Nature

By Ryan Haugo, forest ecologist

Conservation scientists from across the Conservancy gathered last month in San Jose, California to discuss the science of conservation for people and nature. This “all-science” conference was incredibly wide ranging, with topics from conservation of sage grouse to the use of social media to track the impact of nature experiences on peoples’ well-being. 

One common theme throughout the meeting, however, was that “conservation for nature and people” represents evolution, not revolution. People always have been and always will be a critical piece of the conservation equation. In Idaho, the Conservancy embraced the concept of “Working Landscapes” more than 15 years ago. For almost two decades we have been focused on finding conservation solutions that benefit both our state’s biodiversity and our rural communities.

Members of the Clearwater Basin Collaborative discussing forest management. Photo ©TNC

Since joining the Conservancy one of my primary focuses has been working with the Clearwater Basin Collaborative. The Clearwater Basin is renowned for its pristine waters, productive fisheries, diverse wildlife, vast wild landscapes and scenic vistas. It has also seen tremendous battles over the management of its lands and waters. The collaborative, a group of conservation, business, government and tribal leaders, formed 5 years ago to help resolve these longstanding conflicts. The Conservancy is involved with the Clearwater Basin because of the outstanding biological diversity that this landscape supports. Yet, the focus of my work in the Clearwater has been defining how the tools of ecological restoration (mechanical harvests, controlled burning) can be used to meet the needs of both human and natural communities. While this work is a far cry from my early career when I focused on classifying and measuring biological diversity, it has been some of the most rewarding of my professional life.

Across the Northwest there are many other examples of conservation projects that are built around the needs of local communities. During this past New Years I spent a week on the Washington Coast with my family and had a chance to visit the Ellsworth Creek Preserve. Ellsworth contains some of the last remaining ancient forest stands left on the Washington Coast, isolated within a landscape of private industrial forest lands. The Ellsworth preserve also contains thousands of acres of former industrial forests. Here the Conservancy is conducting a groundbreaking study examining the use of mechanical thinning to both provide jobs for the local economy while accelerating the development of old-growth habitat and healthy watersheds in these young forests.

My wife and daughters taking in an ancient western red cedar at Ellsworth Creek. Photo ©Ryan Haugo/TNC.

Thinning operations at Ellsworth Creek. Photo ©Ryan Haugo/TNC

As conservation scientists, we’re no longer able to solely focus on the question of which lands we should protect to maximize the diversity and resilience of the natural world. We are also called to evaluate the benefits of our conservation actions for people and find ways to balance the “nature and people” equation. It’s an amazing and interesting time to be a scientist at TNC – and that’s a good thing! 

A promising way to prevent wildlife-vehicle crashes

By Lisa Eller, communications director

A white creature hurries across the road against a pitch-black night. It wasn't an elusive white bear, as my coworker Art joked, but the thermal image of a moose crossing one of the deadliest highways in Idaho - US Highway 95 in Boundary County. 

This stretch of highway sees a relatively high number of fatalities (both human and animal) from collisions between wildlife and vehicles. Between 2000 and 2010, there were 321 wildlife-related accidents reported on Highway 95 in the McArthur Lake vicinity. Two of these accidents caused human fatalities, and 36 more resulted in injuries. All told, these collisions cost an estimated $4.9 million, ranging from loss of life to vehicle repairs. ‬

For several years the Conservancy, as a partner of the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative, has looked for ways to make the area safer. Earlier this month, after researching several safety options, we deployed a new but promising safety system. The first phase of the project was funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

According to its creator, Brice Sloan of Sloan Security Systems, the system is the first to combine the use of Doppler radar, high-resolution thermal camera, web-enabled remote power systems, and other wireless technologies to create a mobile animal detection system to reduce crashes between animals and vehicles. Unlike traditional perimeter detection methods this system tracks movement over the entire roadway – from fence to fence - over a distance of up to 1km in a given area.

Deer captured in a test image from Warm Springs in Boise. Photo and video (above) ©Sloan Security Systems

Once movement is detected, the monitor triggers nearby alert signal strobe lights to turn on – these lights stay on until the animal is off the road. The mobile monitoring system and alert lights communicate via powerful radios similar to how you would trigger your garage door.

Signal strobe light. Photo ©Sloan Security Systems.

Monitoring trailer. Photo ©Sloan Security Systems.

If effective the system could offer benefits many traditional safety measures don't: mobility, adaptability, permeability and affordability. Rather than forcing wildlife to respond to various funneling systems, the system can be adapted (moved) in response to the animal behavior. And it is relatively affordable when compared to infrastructure changes like building tunnels under highways.

In addition to the detection feature, the combination of radar and thermal cameras are helping the Idaho Transportation Department to identify where, when, and how many animals are crossing the roadway within the detection area and where potential collisions might take place – invaluable information for designing safer roadways.  

Much more data needs to be collected but results, thus far, are positive.

For more on the project and to donate, go to the McArthur Lake Safety project page. To volunteer by verifying data coming through the monitor, contact Brice Sloan at brice.sloan@sloansg.com.