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Pine Butte Swamp Preserve
Choteau, Montana
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| Pine Butte wetlands © Ted Wood | |
Grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis) |
The Big Swamp
The Nature Conservancy continues an ambitious project to protect Montana's Pine Butte Swamp: the largest wetland complex along the Rocky Mountain Front and one of the grizzly bear's last strongholds on the plains.
Pine Butte is where the Conservancy began its work on the Front. Two decades ago, it purchased 15,000 acres -- native foothills prairie, rocky ridges of limber pine and creeping juniper, spruce-fir forests, mountain streams, glacial ponds and spring-fed swamp -- to become the Pine Butte Swamp Preserve. Since then, the Conservancy has purchased additional land and conservation easements from adjacent landowners, adding 3,000 acres to the area and protecting for all time a vitally important habitat for a number of Montana's rarest native plants and animals.
Pine Butte lies next to a vast mountain wilderness spanning the Continental Divide for thousands of miles north and south. As a lush lowland extension of the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the value of Pine Butte Swamp to roving mammals like the grizzly is increased manyfold. Here, protected for future generations, wildlife will continue to migrate from mountains to plains and back -- a ritual essential to their survival in modern times.
Stronghold of the Grizzly
Abutting the Bob Marshall Wilderness, some 60 miles southeast of Glacier National Park, Pine Butte Swamp is at the heart of the largest wild expanse in the contiguous 48 states. It is a place of stark, primeval beauty. The looming sandstone butte escaped the glaciers that scoured this country, and rises 500 feet above grasses and surrounding wetlands. Its water is fed by the silvery north and south forks of the Teton River. Beyond the swamp lies endless prairie dotted with isolated mountain ranges.
Each spring the grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis) descends from its mountain retreat while snow still blankets the high country, and follows these watercourses and others on the Rocky Mountain Front, down to the swamp -- there to feed and raise its young. Since foraging is easy in the rich wetland environment, the bears can replenish their depleted energy reserves with little risk.
At one time grizzlies roamed prairies, forests, and foothills from the Pacific Coast, east to Minnesota and south to Mexico. But with white settlement in this region, the bears retreated into this small portion of the northern Rockies, where only some 500 -- of an original population of more than 100,000 -- remain today. Without protective measures, this most imposing of North America's creatures, federally designated as a threatened species, may not live into the next century.
A Treasury of Habitats
Pine Butte Swamp (or fen) is an extensive peatland fed by mineral-rich groundwater. It differs from other such fens in its proximity to mountains, foothills and grasslands. A crazy-quilt of habitats -- wetlands and dry ground, flat prairie and steep mountain areas -- meet in a geologic sweep ranging from 4,500 to 8,500 feet in elevation. At Pine Butte, the western border of the High Plains grasslands edges up against cliffs and talus slopes, alpine meadows and montane forests.
The result is a remarkably diverse flora. Rare wetland species such as yellow lady's slipper, Macoun's gentian, cotton grass and Craw's sedge flourish in proximity to common upland prairie plants such as shrubby cinquefoil, rough fescue and Montana's state grass, bluebunch wheatgrass. To date, 40 distinct plant communities have been identified on the preserve.
This wealth of vegetation provides habitat for an equally diverse fauna. Forty-three species of mammals (beaver, muskrat, mink, elk, moose, mountain lion, bobcat, lynx, black bear, grizzly, mule deer and the largest population of bighorn sheep in the continental United States) as well as 150 species of birds (warblers, waterfowl, waders and raptors) find forage and shelter in Pine Butte's woods, prairies and labyrinth wetlands. A rare hybrid minnow resides in the wetland waters as well. Sharp-tailed grouse use the wet meadows on the swamp's periphery for their "dancing grounds." In short, Pine Butte Swamp is a wildlife bonanza.
Traces of History
Pine Butte is also rich in history. Drawn by the abundance of prey, pre-Columbian peoples frequently occupied the area. The Great North Trail, trod by Mongols who had migrated across the Bering Sea land bridge, cuts through the preserve. Tipi rings testify to the presence of prehistoric plains dwellers. A buffalo jump, used before the advent of the horse, and drive lanes of a buffalo mire have been uncovered. Scant remains of homestead structures dot the preserve,while ranching activities continue as they have for the past century.
Much earlier the preserve was home to vast herds of plant-eating dinosaurs. Eighty million years of geologic folding and erosion have brought thousands of these dinosaurs' bones to the surface. This site, known as Egg Mountain, harbors one of the richest paleontological finds of our century: Maiasaura Peeblesorum, the "good mother lizard" who nested, laid eggs, fed and protected her young. Many nests, eggs, hatchlings and juveniles have been unearthed here. This research has provided more insight into dinosaur behavior than any other site in the world.
In 2005, the Conservancy sold the Egg Mountain site to the Museum of the Rockies, which has led important research on the site. The Conservancy retains a conservation easement on the site.
The Challenge
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| Pine Butte & wetlands |
The Conservancy's responsibility for protecting the Pine Butte assemblage while promoting its ecological significance extends far into the future. Having completed studies on the area's hydrology, vegetation and wildlife -- the Conservancy has developed a long-range plan for the bear, the fen and the surrounding foothills prairie. Cooperative efforts with local agencies and neighboring landowners also enhance the integrity of the larger ecosystem.
Additionally, the Pine Butte Guest Ranch provides educational tours of the preserve and the surrounding wild country to its visitors. Working closely with the local community to balance economic development and conservation remains an essential goal of the Conservancy.
