USGS Biological Science for Montana, the Treasure State

A gray wolf. Gary Kramer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Montana is rich in minerals, energy and soils, and in prairies, forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, fish and wildlife. Much of its economy — tourism, hunting, fishing, agriculture and energy — rests on natural resources. Outdoor recreation alone supports 64,000 jobs and nearly $6 billion a year in economic activity.

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, the Interior Department's biological research arm, provides science to help Montana manage and conserve its living resources and the ecosystems behind them.

Grizzly recovery

More than four decades of interagency research and monitoring, led by the USGS, showed that grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem had recovered enough that Endangered Species Act protections were no longer needed.

Wildlife disease and livestock

About 2.5 million cattle graze Montana's pastures. Brucellosis, a bacterial infection that can pass from wild hoofed animals to livestock, causes spontaneous abortions in bison, cattle and elk. The USGS studies how it spreads — including its presence in elk and possible spread to cattle.

An energy powerhouse

Montana's bioenergy, coal, geothermal, hydroelectric, oil, natural gas and wind resources supply the state and region. The USGS provides management tools, risk assessments and scenario planning so they can be developed with the least harm to fish and wildlife and the most energy produced.

Zebra and quagga mussels have arrived

In 2016, larvae of zebra or quagga mussels were first detected in two Montana reservoirs, prompting emergency restrictions on launching boats and docks. A large infestation could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, hurting agriculture, hydropower, drinking water and recreation. The USGS builds detection tools, writes lab and field monitoring protocols, and develops criteria for judging risk.

A small parasite, a big closure

In 2016, almost 200 miles of the Yellowstone River and its tributaries were closed to recreation, hitting river-dependent businesses hard. The cause: a fish die-off from proliferative kidney disease (PKD), linked to a small parasite that damages fish kidneys. The USGS is developing early detection, mapping the parasite's distribution, and helping managers predict the conditions that lead to die-offs.

Angling is a big part of Montana's outdoor economy. Al Zale, Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit.

A blue-ribbon trout river

A 59-mile stretch of the Smith River in central Montana is so popular for trout fishing and boating that a lottery limits use. USGS work with state scientists shows its major tributaries are key spawning and nursery areas for trout, guiding the state's efforts to identify and manage critical habitat.

Gray wolf watch

The USGS helped the state build a wolf monitoring program whose data informed the decision to remove Montana's wolves from the federal endangered list. Wolves are now managed by harvest, and the USGS helped adapt monitoring to wolves' changed behavior once hunting began and to their larger numbers and range — balancing ungulate numbers, livestock operations and a viable wolf population.

Old and new in tribal forestry

Montana's tribes combine traditional knowledge with current science to keep forests healthy, sustain culturally important resources and manage fire risk. The USGS works with them on the effects of fire, traditional practices, other human influences and climate, to reduce fire risk now and predict future vulnerabilities.

Sources

Based on Biological and Ecological Science for Montana — "The Treasure State," USGS Fact Sheet 2017–3052 (August 2017), U.S. Geological Survey (DOI); a work of the United States government in the public domain. The opening, the grizzly and mussel notes and the photographs come from the fact sheet's PDF; one of its captions puts the outdoor recreation economy at $7.1 billion rather than the nearly $6 billion in its text. Its stock photographs and an individually credited grizzly photograph are left out. More: USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.