Swan Valley Connections

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND EDUCATION.

STEWARDSHIP AND RESTORATION:SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS (SVC), WORKING WITH THE MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION, ASSISTED 277 PRIVATE LANDOWNERS IN THE SWAN VALLEY DURING 2023 TO PROVIDE FOREST HEALTH AND STEWARDSHIP ASSESSMENTS. PRIVATE LANDOWNERS ALSO RECEIVE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK THROUGH FOREST FUELS THINNING, MANAGE TREE BEETLE INFESTATIONS, AND MONITOR TREE DISEASE OUTBREAKS. WITH FUNDING FROM SEVERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, FOREST STEWARDSHIP COST SHARE GRANTS WERE AWARDED TO TEN LANDOWNERS AND TREATED 182 ACRES IN 2023. SINCE BEGINNING THE PROGRAM IN 2004, 306 LANDOWNER GRANTS HAVE BEEN AWARDED, FACILITATING THE TREATMENT OF 3,233 ACRES OF FOREST LAND AT RISK FROM WILDFIRE, TREE AND FOREST HEALTH DECLINE, OR TREE INSECT AND DISEASE OUTBREAKS. IN 2023, 10,030 BEETLE PHEROMONE PACKETS WERE DISTRIBUTED TO 182 LANDOWNERS IN THE SWAN VALLEY PROTECTING 72 ACRES OF TREES AND PROVIDING A BUFFER ZONE TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF A BEETLE INFESTATION TO HUNDREDS OF ADDITIONAL ACRES. MITIGATING THE ENCROACHMENT OF NOXIOUS AND NON-NATIVE PLANT SPECIES REMAINS AN IMPORTANT PART OF MAINTAINING ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY FOR THE SWAN VALLEY. SVC OFFERED NUMEROUS LANDOWNERS WITH ADVICE ON HOW TO EFFECTIVELY TREAT WEED INFESTATIONS ON THEIR PROPERTY.THE SWAN VALLEY HAS OVER 4,000 WETLANDS, THE MOST ABUNDANT WETLAND HABITAT IN MONTANA AND IS HOME TO SEVERAL RARE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (USFWS), SVC IS ENHANCING EXISTING WETLAND HABITAT AND RESTORING DEGRADED WETLANDS THROUGHOUT THE SWAN VALLEY. PROJECTS IN THE SWAN VALLEY ARE TARGETED TOWARDS THE RECOVERY OF FOCAL SPECIES BULL TROUT, TRUMPETER SWANS, AND GRIZZLY BEARS. IN 2022, SVC AND USFWS PARTNERED TO RESTORE 609 ACRES OF DITCHED AND DRAINED WETLANDS ON THE SWAN RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, THE LARGEST WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECT IN MONTANA'S HISTORY. IN ADDITION, SVC AND THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE PARTNERED TO RESTORE 30 ACRES OF DITCHED AND DRAINED WETLANDS ON NATIONAL FOREST LAND. IN TOTAL, 639 ACRES OF WETLANDS WERE RESTORED IN 2022. EFFECTIVENESS MONITORING OF THESE PROJECTS CONTINUED IN 2023. ALSO IN 2023, SVC AND USFWS PARTNERED WITH THE CSKT, MISSOULA COUNTY, AND THE ELK FLATS ROAD COOP TO UPGRADE UNDERSIZED CULVERTS IN THE FLOODPLAIN ALONG ELK CREEK ON THE ELK CREEK CONSERVATION AREA. THE PREVIOUS UNDERSIZED CULVERTS WERE UNABLE TO HANDLE THE HIGH FLOWS DURING SPRING RUNOFF EVENTS AND HAD RESULTED IN LARGE QUANTITIES OF SEDIMENT FROM ELK FLATS ROAD WASHING INTO ELK CREEK, NEGATIVELY IMPACTING BULL TROUT SPAWNING AND REARING HABITAT AS WELL AS WATER QUALITY. SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE PROGRAM IN 2010, SVC HAS RESTORED 16 WETLANDS ON 791 ACRES.TARGETED PROJECTS IN THE SWAN VALLEY OF PREVIOUSLY DITCHED AND DRAINED WETLANDS HAVE HELPED RESTORE NESTING AND FORAGING HABITAT FOR TRUMPETER SWANS. IN 2019, SVC AND PARTNERS DOCUMENTED THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL NESTING PAIR OF TRUMPETER SWANS IN THE UPPER SWAN VALLEY IN OVER 100 YEARS! IN 2023, RECOVERY EFFORTS CONTINUED WITH A PROMISING FUTURE, AS TWO SUCCESSFUL NESTING PAIRS OF TRUMPETER SWANS WERE DOCUMENTED IN THE UPPER SWAN VALLEY, PRODUCING SIX CYGNETS THAT SURVIVED UNTIL THE FALL MIGRATION.IN TOTAL, 315 LANDOWNERS WERE SERVED, AND 2,863 ACRES OF PRIVATE PROPERTY WERE EVALUATED OR IMPROVED THOUGH SVC PROGRAMS DURING 2023.

EDUCATION:SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS' (SVC) EDUCATION PROGRAMS AIM TO STRENGTHEN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE AND LANDSCAPES THROUGH PLACED-BASED EXPERIENCES. SVC TEACHES ECOLOGICAL LITERACY TO PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS, CULTIVATING COMPASSION AND ENTHUSIASM FOR THE NATURAL WORLD IN CHILDREN, CHALLENGING YOUNG ADULTS TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES OF LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, AND PROVIDING RESIDENTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH THE PLACE WHERE THEY LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY.DURING 2023, SVC CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THE MISSION MOUNTAIN YOUTH CREW (MMYC), WHICH IS A CONSERVATION YOUTH CORPS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM THE CONFEDERATED SALISH AND KOOTENAI TRIBAL RESERVATION. THE MMYC ASSISTED IN A VARIETY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECTS, INCLUDING INVASIVE WEED CONTROL AND TRAIL AND CULTURAL SITE MAINTENANCE.OUR EXPERIENTIAL COLLEGE FIELD PROGRAMS HOSTED OVER 35 STUDENTS IN 2023. SVC PROMOTES A PLACE-BASED, CASE-STUDY APPROACH TO CONSERVATION AND STUDIES PROCESS AND COLLABORATION TO MAKE THESE LESSONS APPLICABLE IN OTHER GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS. WE HOSTED PROGRAMS FROM GONZAGA UNIVERSITY AND UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA AND TAUGHT OUR OWN 9 CREDIT PROGRAM, "WILDLIFE IN THE WEST". STUDENTS IN OUR PROGRAMS STUDY ECOLOGY, NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, AND COMMUNITY-BASED CONSERVATION. OUR COLLEGE PROGRAMS ARE INTERDISCIPLINARY IN NATURE AND OFFER A BALANCE OF LEARNING THROUGH FIELD WORK, ACADEMIC READINGS, PRESENTATIONS BY STAFF AND SPEAKERS, PROBLEM SOLVING ACTIVITIES, AND PERSONAL REFLECTION. WE BELIEVE THAT A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES COMBINED WITH EMPATHY FOR HUMAN COMMUNITIES LEADS TO INNOVATIVE AND THOUGHTFUL STEWARDSHIP OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LANDSCAPES. OUR NATURAL RESOURCE SPEAKER SERIES BROUGHT 4 DIFFERENT PRESENTERS TO CONDON MONTANA, SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT ECOLOGY, BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION. ATTENDANCE TO THESE PRESENTATIONS RANGES FROM 20 TO OVER 70 ATTENDEES. WE HELD SEVERAL WILDLIFE TRACKING CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS SERVING OVER 100 PARTICIPANTS AND OUR MONTANA MASTER NATURALIST PROGRAM HAD OVER 15 PARTICIPANTS. SVC IS COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING PARTNERSHIPS THAT PROMOTE EDUCATION TO A BROADER AUDIENCE. IN 2023, SVC PARTNERED WITH THE MONTANA NATURAL HISTORY CENTER, THE BLACKFOOT CHALLENGE, CLEARWATER RESOURCE COUNCIL, THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA, THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE AND PARKS, MONTANA DEQ, TROUT UNLIMITED, BACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS AND ANGLERS, THE UNITED STATE GEOLOGIC SURVEY, AND OTHERS TO PROMOTE STATE-WIDE AND OUT OF STATE EDUCATION PROGRAMS TO A DIVERSE AUDIENCE. THESE PARTNERSHIPS BUILD TRUST, ENHANCE COLLABORATION, AND EXTEND THE REACH OF ANY INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATION.

PUBLIC INFORMATION/VISITOR CENTER:SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS (SVC) HAS PARTNERED WITH THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE TO PROVIDE YEAR-ROUND VISITOR AND COMMUNITY SERVICES MONDAY FRIDAY BETWEEN 9AM 4:30PM. SVC STAFFS A VISITOR CENTER LOCATED IN THE USFS CONDON WORK CENTER THAT IS THE PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT FOR VISITORS TO THE SWAN VALLEY. WE SAW 1,112 VISITORS WHO CAME TO THE VISITOR CENTER TO GET INFORMATION REGARDING TRAILS/HIKING, CAMPING, FISHING, AND WATER RECREATION, LODGING AND WILDLIFE IN THE VALLEY. WE RECORDED 875 MINUTES OF INFORMATION GIVEN TO 107 VISITORS SPECIFICALLY REGARDING RECREATION IN BEAR COUNTRY. BESIDES BEING THE MAIN SOURCE OF NATURAL RESOURCE-BASED INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC, SVC HAS CREATED WILDLIFE AND HABITAT EXHIBITS, DEVELOPED A RESOURCE LIBRARY FOCUSED ON LOCAL NATURAL RESOURCES, WILDLIFE AND HISTORY, AND A SMALL RETAIL SHOP SELLING BEAR SPRAY, MAPS, FIREWOOD PERMITS, AND BOOKS RELATED TO ENJOYING AND UNDERSTANDING THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE SWAN VALLEY. VISITORS CAN ALSO ENJOY AN INTERPRETIVE TRAIL ADJACENT TO THE VISITOR CENTER.SVC'S VISITOR CENTER IS AN INFORMATIONAL HUB FOR VISITORS AND RESIDENTS ALIKE AND A CRITICAL RESOURCE FOR PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN THE SWAN VALLEY. SVC HOSTS THE SWAN LANDS COORDINATING NETWORK AND ITS VARIOUS FOCAL SUBCOMMITTEES, A FORUM FOR ALL RESOURCE CONSERVATION PRACTITIONERS AND PROFESSIONALS IN THE VALLEY. SVC FACILITATES WORKSHOPS AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES YEAR-ROUND FOR RESIDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS, INCLUDING A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION "THE CONFLUENCE" WITH A PRINT DISTRIBUTION OF OVER 1,300 AS WELL AS DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION OF OVER 3,300 VIA EMAIL. IN ADDITION, THE SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS WEBSITE PROVIDES A WEALTH OF PUBLIC INFORMATION AND OUTREACH MATERIAL. IN 2023, THE WEBSITE RECEIVED 26,000 UNIQUE VIEWERS AND SERVED AS A JUMPING OFF POINT TO OUR SOCIAL PAGES, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM, WHICH HAVE 17,000 AND 2,900 FOLLOWERS RESPECTIVELY, BRINGING TOGETHER A CONFLUENCE OF CONSERVATION AND EDUCATION MATERIAL. IN ADDITION, SVC HAS OVER 4,100 YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBERS. SVC PARTNERS WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCY STAKEHOLDERS AND ACTS AS THE LIAISON FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THESE AGENCIES (90% OF THE VALLEY IS UNDER FEDERAL AND STATE OWNERSHIP) AND THE PRIVATE LANDOWNERS/RESIDENTS OF THE VALLEY. SVC HOSTS INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS FOR CITIZENS TO BE AWARE OF AGENCY ACTIVITY AND ALLOWS CITIZENS TO PROVIDE INPUT AND FEEDBACK TO THE FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES ON PROJECTS HAPPENING IN THE VALLEY. THIS CRITICAL COMMUNICATION LINK BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS THAT ALLOW FOR PRODUCTIVE OUTCOMES THAT BENEFIT ALL.