Range riding in Montana's wild Centennial Valley

Montana’s Centennial Valley is wild, rugged country. The lakes and marshes of The Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge at the heart of the valley are framed with sagebrush, grassland, and sand dunes. Rising at the valley’s edges, above a forested patchwork of foothills, are the dramatic peaks of the Snowcrest, Centennial, and Gravelly ranges. An abundance of wildlife lives and passes through here, including trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes, pronghorn, elk, moose, and the ever-contentious grizzly bear and wolf. The landscape and its wild inhabitants draw recreationists, hunters, and wildlife viewers from near and far as well as the folks who keep them all in check and conduct long-term research including government agencies and The Nature Conservancy. The valley’s fertile landscape provides rich forage for cattle, whose presence on the landscape is a sign of the dynamic relationship between the land and people who have ranched here for multiple generations.

Erika Nunlist is one of the lucky few who live in the Centennial Valley year-round. Meandering dirt roads - which are snowmobile tracks in the winter - wind through the valley’s rugged landscape to get to her house. Just living here takes grit and builds connection with the landscape, but Erika’s work is indelibly tied to the valley as well. She and her colleagues play a critical role in helping ranchers and wildlife continue to thrive here. As the wildlife program coordinator for the Centennial Valley Association (CVA), Erika spends the summer and fall range riding, working on wildlife-friendly fencing, helping producers move cattle, and monitoring large carnivore activity with remote cameras. Her background in wildlife biology, extensive skill set, and calm but direct demeanor is the perfect package for getting this challenging work done well.   

I joined Erika for the day in early September to take a drive around the valley, get better acquainted with the CVA’s work, and catch up with her on how the season is going. As we stop the truck to identify a flock of horned larks in the road, she brings up the challenges of working in such a variable landscape and the difficulties the community is facing with this year’s severe drought conditions. Rain has been so scarce this year Erika and her partner could only recall two heavy rains all summer. This has impacted many ecological processes throughout the valley. One such impact is the increased availability of toxic plants across the landscape. One of the first forbs to emerge in the spring is death camas, a common toxic plant that poses a risk to grazing livestock. Its early arrival, combined with the slow growth of grasses and other desirable forage this year, has increased the rate of poisoning events. Ranchers have had to be more observant and alter their rotations as a result, but some realized this need too late were faced with devastating side effects.  

The hot temperatures and lack of rain have also caused many water sources that are usually available all season to dry up entirely. This means Erika and the other range riders, Sarah and Brooke, have been busy locating water each time they check on herds, and producers have been forced to decide between selling cows early in order to avoid losses or paying the cost of shipping hay to supplement the lack of green grass. Less forage for cattle also means less forage for wildlife. With berries and vegetation drying up sooner than usual, more bears are looking for food in the valley bottom earlier in the year, leading to an increase in conflict and depredations. Although Erika and the other range riders are busy trying to manage this conflict, this year has been far more challenging than most on producers, cattle, and wildlife alike.    

Toward the end of the day, Erika and I stopped to get out of the truck and say hi to her coworker Sarah. Sarah was just finishing up moving cows with a local ranch. We greeted the crew as they cracked open cold drinks and tied up their horses. The ranch owner welcomed me to the valley and inquired where I was visiting from. “Ahh, you’re the one whose bears we are protecting,” he said with a wry smile as he gently brushed a bumble bee off his plaid shirt. “Did you know there are nearly thirty species of bumble bees here in Montana?” he asked as it flew away. As we chatted about bees and bears I was reminded how complicated and layered the challenge of living and working with wildlife is, but also how thankful I am for honest dialoged these issues. It’s a good reminder that at the end of the day, we all care deeply for this special place and want to see it continue to thrive.

I left the valley that day wishing I could switch places with Erika for a while and was inspired to continue working with such a great group of women at the CVA. Engaging with the community, earning their trust, and understanding their values are key ingredients to this demanding work and things the CVA has done exceptionally well. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is happy to help fund their endeavors and learn from them along the way.

 — Blakeley Adkins, Volgenau Foundation Wildlife Conservation Associate

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 30+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.