Vol. 32 (2026)

Montana Chapter of The Wildlife Society [Individual Abstracts]

• From Echolocation to Action: How Montana’s Bat Monitoring Program Informs Management

  Emily Almberg, Kathi Irvine, Katharine Banner, Shannon Hilty, Shannon Hilty, Kristina Smucker, Dan Bachen, Alexis McEwan

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• Conservation Genetics and Movement Ecology of Swift Fox on Fort Belknap Indian Reservation (Poster)

  Tevin Messerly, Ethan Linck, Owen Kanter, Jesse Boulerice, Nucharin Songsasen

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• Investigating the Effect of Forestry Management Practices on Bat Habitat Selection in a Fire Prone Ecosystem

  Morgan Anderson, Riley F. Bernard

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• Evaluating the Direct and Indirect Effects of Harvest on Variation in Group Composition and Group Size for Grey Wolves in Idaho (Poster)

  David Ausband, Peter Rebholz, Chase Dart, Sarah Bassing

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• Understanding Landowner Decisions to Secure Bear Attractants in the Bitterroot Valley

  Anna Baize, Brianna Lipp, Alexander Metcalf, Sarah Sells

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• Movement-Based Parturition Detection Methods for Elk Neonate Captures - A Case Study

  Nicole Bealer, Andi Stewart, Zachary Farley, Christopher Hansen, Jesse DeVoe, Joshua Millspaugh

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• Increasing Tolerance for Wildlife on Private Lands in Montana’s Great Plains Region

  Katy Beattie

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• The Distribution of Bison Wallows in the Mixed Grass Prairie of North-Central Montana (Poster)

  Leif Brandsness, Claire Bresnan, Hila Shamon, John Olson, Scott Creel

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• Factors Influencing Plains Bison Group Stability and Fission Fusion Events

  Claire Bresnan, Scott Creel, Hila Shamon

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• Identifying a Hidden Social Structure in a Solitary Carnivore

  Carly Brooks, Sergio Morales, Malakhi Spint, Phillip Ramsey, Melissa Reynolds-Hogland, Alan Ramsey

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• Characterizing Reproductive States in Canada Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) and Wolverine (Gulo Gulo) Using Non-Invasively Sampled Fecal Hormones

  Helen Chmura, Mattina Alonge, Creagh Bruener, Eva Andersson

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• Cattle Influence on Ungulate Habitat Use in Eastern Montana (Poster)

  Ross Coldsmith, Lisa Eby, Blake Hossack, Colleen Piper

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• Comparing Camera-Based Ungulate Density Estimates: A Case Study Using an Island Population of Bighorn Sheep

  Jessy Coltrane, Jon Horne, Nick DeCesare, Paul Lukacs

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• Using eDNA to Determine Occupancy of Coeur D’Alene Salamanders

  Jessy Coltrane, Hannah Specht, Torrey Ritter, Daniel Mason, Thomas Fra, Alissa Anderson

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• Riparian Songbird Condition Reflects Both Diet Quality and Metal Exposure in the Mining-Impaired Upper Clark Fork River Superfund (Poster)

  Bridger M. Creel, Brian C. Balmer, Creagh W. Breuner, Zachary A. Cheviron, Benjamin P. Colman, Travis S. Schmidt, Megan A. Fylling

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• Understanding Yellowstone’s Loons: an Integrated Approach for Long-Term Monitoring Data (Poster)

  Kelsey Cronin, Victoria Dreitz

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• Monitoring Movements of Montana Bat Species Using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System

  Madeline Damon, Nathan Schwab, Jeremy Vandenberg, Philip Ramsey

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• Pronounced Effects of Hunter Harvest on Mountain Goats in the Case of Small and Demographically Fragmented Populations

  Nick DeCesare, Rebecca Mowry

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• Factors Influencing Pronghorn Migration Behavior and Plasticity

  Jesse DeVoe, Kelly Proffitt, Joshua Millspaugh

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• Past, Present, and Future of Whitebark Pine in The Northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

  Rachael Dines, Daniel Tyers, Daniel Atwater

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• Comparing AI-Based Camera Monitoring to Human Bird Surveys at Freezout Lake

  Christian Dupree, Victoria Dreitz

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• Habitat Patches, Leks, and Nesting Areas Shape Dispersal Movements of Translocated Sharp-Tailed Grouse

  Laura Dykstra, Lance McNew, Mikel Newberg, Ty Smucker, Kristina Gunderson, Beau Larkin

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• Examining Significance of Human Disturbance on Nest Selection in Great Gray Owls (Strix Nebulosa) in Southwest Montana Using an Rsf Model (Poster)

  Tori Flath, Justine Becker, Arcata Leavitt

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• Estimating Mountain Goat Abundance in an Alpine Transboundary Protected Area Using Genetic Data, Community Science, and Spatial Capture-Recapture

  Rob Found, Clinton Epps, Rachel Crowhurst, Jami Belt, Mark Biel, Tabitha Graves, William Janousek

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• Are Ungulate Species Variable in Their Habitat Selection in Northwest Montana?

  Katherine Garrett, David Messmer, Dustin Brewster, Mahdieh Tourani

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• Distance Sampling to Estimate the Urban Deer Density of Bozeman, Montana

  Makayla Gilbert, Noah Starling, Justine Becker

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• Floral eDNA Rivals Traditional Surveys for Detecting Bumble Bee Species of Concern

  Tabitha Graves, Eliza Stein, Amanda Boone, Alma Schrage, Muruleedhara Byappanahalli, Clint Otto, Erica Sarro Gustilo

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• Management Strategy Evaluation for Informing Decisions About Wolf Management and Conservation

  Justin Gude, Kevin Podruzny, Michael Lewis, Hannah Sipe, Molly Parks, Alexander Metcalf, Elizabeth Metcalf

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• Restoring Western Montana’s Sharp-Tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus Phasianellus): 2026 Progress Report

  Kristina Gunderson, Mikel Newberg, Laura Dykstra, Ty Smucker, Beau Larkin, Chris Hammond, Lance McNew

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• Defining Elk Security Habitat in Montana – Ongoing Research and Outreach

  Christopher Hansen, Jesse DeVoe, Kelly Proffitt, Justin Gude

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• Assessing the Mitigated Loss of Grassland Bird Habitat Through Conservation Easements and Leases in Eastern Montana

  Heather Harris, Kristina Smucker, Allison Begley, Justin Gude, Hannah Specht, Joshua J. Millspaugh

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• Acoustic Monitoring of Migratory Shorebirds In Montana (Poster)

  Ashley Huang, Benjamin Van Doren, Kate Stone

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• Elk Browsing Intensity Impacts Aspen Recruitment on Multiple Use Landscape Over Three Decades

  Autumn Keller, Daniel Tyers, Daniel Atwater, Douglas Smith, Clayton Marlow

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• 30-Year Human Use Trends in the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness

  Danielle Knighton, Dan Atwater, Dan Tyers

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• Cougar Behavioral Responses to Drought: Movement, Habitat Selection, and Predation

  Lisa Koetke, Hugh Robinson, Tavis Forrester

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• Factors Associated with Elk Distributions During Hunting Season in a Prairie Environment

  Elisabeth Krieger, Nicole Bealer, Ryan DeVore, Shane Petch, Kelly Proffitt, Jay Rotella,, Emily Mitchell

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• Does Incorporating Habitat Selection Improve Viewshed Density Estimates Using Camera Traps?

  Darren Ladwig, Daniel Storm, Jennifer Stenglein, Eli Wildey, Ehsan Moqanaki, Martha Zillig, Glenn Stauffer

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• BiBiooacoustic Detection and Multi-Scale Habitat Assessment of Breeding Great Gray Owls in Southwest Montana

  Arcata Leavitt, Katherine Gura, David Willey, Claire Gower, Nichole Bailey, Jay Gatlin, Jenna Roose

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• A Systematic Literature Review of Social Identity in Wildlife Research

  Brianna P. Lipp, Alexander L. Metcalf, Anna L. Baize, Hannah A. Sipe, Sarah N. Sells

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• Missing the Point: Consequences of Behavioral Bias in GPS Telemetry Data (Poster)

  Elise Loggers, Andrea Litt, Matthew Gould, Mark Haroldson, Frank T. van Manen, Kerry Gunther

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• Land Use Changes and Temporal Variation in Juvenile Sex Ratios of Three North American Mid-Continent Dabbling Duck Populations

  Madeleine Lohman, Liv Lundin, Thomas Riecke

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• More Tines, More Breaks: Antler Failure Patterns in Western Montana Cervids

  Nicole Lopez, Tanner Liermann, John Carlson, Doug Emlen, Rebecca Mowry, Lee Tafelmeyer, Liz Bradley

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• Variation in Habitat Use of Fauna in Relation to Beaver Dams and Water Availability in Small Prairie Streams in Montana (Poster)

  Ethaniel Marshall, Ross Coldsmith, Colleen Piper, Lisa Eby, Blake Hossack

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• Integrating UAS Thermal Imagery into Sharp-Tailed Grouse Nest and Brood Monitoring (Poster)

  Robert Martin, Luke Johnson, Lance McNew

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• Montana Natural Heritage Program Information Products (Poster)

  Bryce Maxell, Dan Bachen, Braden Burkholder, Kyle Kaskie, Dave Ratz

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• Does Computer Vision Reliably Process Camera Trap Images in Multispecies Systems?

  Lilia Membrino, David Messmer, Dustin Brewster, Mahdieh Tourani

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• Large-Scale Camera-Based Monitoring for Ungulates in Northwestern Montana

  David Messmer, Dustin Brewster, Mahdieh Tourani, Katherine Garrett, Lilia Membrino

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• The Ownership Distribution of Private Land/Habitat in MT and Changes From 2024-2023

  Alexander Metcalf, John Chandler

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• We’re Not As Divided As We Think We Are - Social Identity Effects on Attitudes Toward Wolves

  Alexander Metcalf, Justin Angle, Brianna Lipp, Anna Baize

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