Spotted bats appear to be restricted to areas east of the Continental Divide in south-central Montana. However, the full extent of the range in Montana is unknown. Spotted bats have been detected most often in open arid habitats dominated by Utah juniper and sagebrush. Cliffs, rocky outcrops, and water are other attributes of sites where spotted bats occur. Conservation concerns include: hazardous, standing water bodies associated with oil and gas fi elds; riparian degradation that could affect sustainable prey (moths) populations; and lack of information due to diffi culty of surveying. Conservation strategies include: protecting water sources in arid regions; conserving riparian areas in arid regions; completing the Montana Bat Management Plan; and increasing monitoring and surveying.

The Townsend’s big-eared bat has been found in almost every part of Montana. Caves and abandoned mines are used for maternity roosts and hibernacula. Habitats in the vicinity of roosts include fi r and pine, sagebrush scrub, and cottonwood bottomland. Conservation concerns include: vandalism to maternity colonies and hibernacula; abandoned mine closures; and degradation or loss of native riparian vegetation. Conservation strategies include: identifying maternity colonies and hibernacula; closing of caves and mines to recreationalists; installing bat-friendly gates to coal mines instead of closure; and maintaining or improving the condition of riparian vegetation in bat foraging areas.

The distribution in Montana is not yet well defi ned, but several pallid bats have been captured east of the Continental Divide in south-central Montana. Habitat includes Utah juniper-black sagebrush, ponderosa pine, savannah and big sagebrush. Conservation concerns include: closure of mines for reclamation; lack of information on distribution, population, and requirements; oil and gas fi elds disturbing water sources; and roost disturbance. Conservation strategies include: installing new entrance barriers that allow free passage of bats; completing the Montana Bat Management Plan; increasing surveying and monitoring techniques; protecting water sources in arid regions; and protecting of roost sites.

The range of pygmy rabbit in Montana is confi ned to the Southwest arid basin. Occupied habitats in Montana include shrub-grasslands on alluvial fans, fl oodplains, plateaus, high mountain valleys, and mountain slopes where suitable sagebrush cover and soils for burrowing are available. Conservation concerns include: loss of sagebrush habitat due to range management practices; fragmentation of available habitat; and the fact that the pygmy rabbit is a habitat specialist on all scales. Conservation strategies include: considering a management plan for the pygmy rabbit or including in another comprehensive taxonomic plan; resting and rotating livestock; coordinating efforts with federal agencies including BLM and USFS; and protecting sagebrush on a large scale.

Hoary marmots are found through coniferous forests in northwest Montana, including small, scattered, isolated populations south of the Mission Mountains. Habitat needs include rocky outcroppings and large boulder fi elds in high subalpine and alpine regions. Conservation concerns include: lack of data on Montana populations; little or no connectivity between populations in distinct mountain ranges; and change in climate patterns, potentially from global warming. Conservation strategies include: examining the feasibility of transplanting individuals between populations to increase genetic diversity; conserving small populations found on the periphery of their distribution; and conducting inventory and monitoring programs to establish long-term trends of abundance and distribution of populations.

Black-tailed prairie dogs are found across most of eastern Montana. Prairie dog colonies are found on fl at, open grasslands and shrub/grasslands with relatively sparse vegetation. Conservation concerns include: conversion of native rangelands to agriculture and residential development; confl icts between the present abundance of prairie dogs and other land uses; disease, particularly sylvatic plague; and poisoning as a governmental control program. Conservation strategies include: instituting a landowner incentive program and a prairie dog control program designed to manage prairie dog acreage; identifying isolated colonies and applying management measures to maintain current distribution; assisting in funding research projects targeting disease; and developing and implementing a prairie dog ecosystem education program.

White-tailed prairie dogs inhabit a small area in the south-central portion of Montana, near the Pryor Mountains. White-tailed prairie dogs inhabit xeric sites with mixed stands of shrubs and grasses. Conservation concerns include: conversion of native rangelands to agriculture and residential development; disease, particularly sylvatic plague; and vulnerability of remaining small and isolated colonies to extirpation. Conservation strategies include: instituting a landowner incentive program and a prairie dog control program designed to manage prairie dog acreage; assisting in funding research projects targeting effects of disease; and translocating white-tailed prairie dogs from colonies in the path of a highway project to a formerly occupied site on BLM land.

The Great basin pocket mouse is restricted in Montana to the extreme southwestern portion of the state. Occupied habitats are arid and sometimes sparsely vegetated. Conservation concerns include: competition for grasses (livestock probably compete with pocket mice for grasses and reduce shrub and grass cover); habitat loss by large-scale removal of sagebrush; and lack of biological information. Conservation strategies include: managing land to maintain a mosaic of sagebrush cover, size, and age classes, especially if it promotes the growth of grasses and forbs within sagebrush stands; rotating livestock areas; and considering a management plan for the great basin pocket mouse or including it in another comprehensive taxonomic plan.

In Montana, the northern bog lemming has been documented at 18 isolated sites, mainly west of the Continental Divide. Northern bog lemmings often occur in wet meadows, fens, or bog-like environments. Conservation concerns include: timber harvest around bog/fen habitats; range management practices, including exotic plant invasion to fens; and poorly understood distribution. Conservation strategies include: working with cooperators to limit timber harvest to beyond a 100 meter buffer surrounding sphagnum, other fen moss mats, or associated riparian areas which could provide corridors for dispersal; minimizing livestock grazing in drainages with unsurveyed moss mats; and considering a management plan for the northern bog lemming or including it in another comprehensive taxonomic plan.

Meadow jumping mice are found in southeastern counties from the Missouri River/Yellowstone River confl uence to the Powder and Tongue Rivers. Meadow jumping mice have been found in dense and lush grass in marshy areas, riparian areas and woody draws. Conservation concerns include: destruction of natural springs/seeps for livestock, and wetland conversion; lack of knowledge regarding immediate and long-term impacts of grazing; and lack of biological information. Conservation strategies include: increasing management and protection of springs and seeps within range; considering a management plan for the meadow jumping mouse or including it in another comprehensive taxonomic plan; and standardizing surveys to obtain biological information of populations.