June 1st - June 15th Range Riding & Wildlife Update

The 2025 Range Riding season is off to a great start! We are happy to welcome back some familiar faces this year, Michael Beck and Sarah Malarik. Michael previously spent six years in the Valley working for a producer, and Sarah was a Range Rider between 2019 - 2021 and worked for a producer in the Valley as well. They spent their winter months on a ranch in southern Arizona and are excited to be back in the Valley this summer.

Erika Nunlist is stepping down from the Wildlife Coordinator position. We have greatly appreciated her efforts and leadership in the program. She has also provided guidance and support to other communities interested in Range Riding over the years. Erika is still in the Centennial Valley working for The Nature Conservancy.

Cattle began arriving in the Valley this month. It is a dry and dusty trail for those trailing in. There have been some reports of pneumonia in calves. As for poisonous plants, Death Camas is prevalent across the north side of the Valley. There is short larkspur about but no tall larkspur sightings yet. Though there has been the occasional afternoon storm, the range conditions remain on the dry side, and two-tracks and natural springs are dryer than typical for mid-June. Be sure to check out the CVA’s May Water Report for more in-depth information.

Range Riders have been moving around horseback, afoot, and by vehicle, looking at pastures, setting up game cameras, visiting with neighbors, and collecting community reports of wildlife. The elk, pronghorn antelope, and moose are calving out and moving around the valley floor, so watch out for young and their defensive mothers in the willow bottoms.

Wolves have been sighted and tracks have been seen in different locations across the Valley.

Black bears have been captured on game cameras in two different locations. Grizzly bears have been sighted in the Valley and tracks have also been noted in separate locations. There has also been bear sign, hair and scat, found around the Valley that could be either bear species.

There have been no documented conflicts with livestock this spring to date.

The Team and cameras cannot capture the entire Valley each day, so community reports are extremely valuable to understand how wildlife use the Valley. If you have any wildlife reports to share (big or small!), please contact the CVA at info@centennialvalleyassociation.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

***2025 content is property of the Centennial Valley Association. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without written permission. This project is made possible through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with support from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, in partnership with Heart of the Rockies Initiative.***