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CHARLES M. RUSSELL
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
LEWISTOWN, MONTANA
I. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
1. New construction
Jordan Field Station:
Three miles of new boundary fence was completed in the Seven Blackfoot HU by fencing contractor John Rogenes. The fence contract began June 17 and was completed on September 15. The fence went in as scheduled and was completed on the last day of the contract. The ruggedness of the "Missouri River Breaks" was proven during this contract.
The Jordan staff surveyed the Snap Creek HU for a new boundary fence. The new fence will consist of two miles of four-wire antelope fence, segregating this common pasture (BLM & FWS) from BLM lands. The contract was let in late fall and will begin in the spring of 1998.
Sand Creek Field Station:
Engineering Equipment Operator Boyd Bergum constructed five vehicle turn out/parking areas to accommodate elk viewing in the Slippery Ann closed area on Refuge road 201.
Fort Peck Field Station:
Over twenty seven miles of fence were built in the Seven Point Habitat Unit. This new fence serves as the boundary for the north and west sides of this unit as well as two pasture division fences. The work was performed by Trio Construction beginning on April 30 and was completed on September 12.
The Sixth Ridge East and Pines fences were completed during 1997. These fences divide the Seven Point and Skunk Coulee Habitat Units. This 6.8 miles of fence was built by Custom Fencing and Welding.
The Lena Coulee and Bone Trail fence contract was awarded in September. By the end of December 1.4 miles of old fence was removed and replaced with new on the Lena Coulee portion. Work will continue on this in 1998.
Lewistown Headquarters:
A used oil storage tank was installed adjacent to the maintenance shop. This system will pump used oil from the shop directly into the outside storage tank, eliminating the chances for spillage.
2. Rehabilitation
Jordan Field Station:
The fence separating Germaine Coulee HU and Grass Coulee HU was replaced this summer by firefighters. The fence was in need of rehabilitation from heavy snow accumulation and livestock damage. It consisted of 2.75 miles of new fence that paralleled Refuge road 604.
The Crooked Creek HU boundary fence was surveyed by the Jordan staff for replacement. There is 3.1 miles of fence in need of rehabilitation and has been approved. The contract will be let sometime during 1998.
Sand Creek Station
Major modifications costing over $21,000 were made to the bunkhouse.
The modifications made to this nine year old building allow us to now use the downstairs as sleeping quarters. A sprinkler system was installed throughout the building and two additional doors were added to the basement.
Over 100 miles of Refuge roads were graded by Equipment Operator Bergum.
Five miles of the Auto Tour Route were graveled by personnel from Sand Creek, Lewistown and the Bureau of Land Management. These same personnel assisted the BLM in graveling five miles of the Dry Fork Road, which is an important access road for CMR. All of this gravel was screened and hauled from a BLM gravel pit near Zortman by FWS and BLM personnel.
The remainder of dikes previously used for waterfowl management in the Slippery Ann closed area were leveled and the area re-seeded.
Approximately 24 cattle guards were cleaned throughout the West Unit.
The exterior of quarters #1, quarters #2 and the Sand Creek office were all scraped and painted by the fire crew.
Refuge roads become impassable with just a small amount of rain. "Gumbo" can clog up wheel wells rather quickly, or, as this picture so adequately portrays, getting stuck is a real concern for Refuge visitiors.
Quarters #1 and quarters #2 were painted inside, and new carpet was laid by a contractor.
Approximately 35 miles of fence was checked and/or repaired by crews this year. Several water gaps were repaired as well.
Over two miles of old sheep pasture fence was removed from Hess Bottoms and the removal of the Kings Island Bottoms fence was started.
Portions of several roads were repaired where washouts had occurred.
Fort Peck Station
Nothing to report
Maintenance staff completed several major road projects during the year.
Lewistown Headquarters
The upper storage shop was re-shingled.
Repairs were made to the buffalo pasture fence.
3. Major Maintenance
Jordan Field Station
The road leading into the Hell Creek Recreation Area was upgraded to an all gravel surface, creating a major access route onto the Refuge. The road improvements were performed by the Garfield Co. maintenance crew, and the gravel was purchased by the Army Corp. of Engineers. The road leads into a recreation area consisting of a marina and campground and will serve the local area and cities to the west. Previously, recreationists have been utilizing the Rock Creek Recreation Area due to the quality of the road. The Hell Creek improvements will possibly create an influx of recreationists due to the fact that the access is closer to western Montana cities.
Ft. Peck Field Station
Entrance sign support posts were replaced at Cabin Coulee, the Pines and South Fork Rock Creek.
Worn and rotted decking was removed and replaced on an implement trailer by Glenn Guenther.
A portion of Refuge Road 361 had to be rerouted due a severe washout. About 200 yards of the road was abandoned and relocated upstream and a new culvert was installed by Guenther.
Two sections of Road 108 also had to be repaired due to washouts. This work was performed by station personnel.
Lewistown Headquarters
Although the acreage of Refuge lands are few in Lewistown, it is often the starting point for many maintenance projects across the Refuge. Maintenance Worker Clayton Christenson is wearing out the tires on Refuge hauling equipment. Too many miles were logged Transporting equipment and supplies across this Refuge and other Refuges throughout Montana to list in this one report.
Christenson made considerable repairs and modifications to a 1985 military M24C Case Loader which was of great use during road graveling projects throughout the summer.
A snowmobile trailer was rebuilt into an ATV trailer.
Clayton outfitted the new Refuge boat and trailer with accessories not included in the original purchase.
An equipment trailer was modified to haul and hold a 400 gallon potable water tank to be used for ferret camp at UL Bend.
A 5KW military diesel generator was brought back to life by Clayton for use at ferret camp as well.
A fire truck package was installed on a truck chassis for the National Elk Refuge.
Mounting brackets were built for eleven goose nesting boxes and for three solar panel units at ferret camp.
5. Communication Systems
Major work was completed on the Refuge=s radio system during the year. A new repeater site was installed on Judith Peak, the phone line from the Lewistown office to Judith Peak was abandoned and two new base stations were installed. One at the BLM Fire Dispatch office and at CMR Headquarters. Both base stations have the capability to scan frequencies which allows both BLM and CMR to use the same radio system.
Glitches with the communications system continued to appear throughout the summer. In September, FMO Granger wrote a scathing letter to the National Communications Manager, stating the Director would get a detailed report on the performance of the system during her visit to the Refuge in October, and to date, the report would be less than favorable for Motorola. This memo was sent far and wide and before long, the Refuge was getting phone calls from Motorola Headquarters in Virginia. A product design and programming specialist from Motorola was sent to the Refuge to analyze the system. Numerous programming mistakes were found. A full report was sent to Denver and on the day the Director was visiting the Refuge, programmers were frantically re-programming Refuge radios and repeaters. The radio system has worked well since the last round of programming. Isn't it amazing how things get done when heads may roll!
6. Computer Systems
The most significant development for CMR's computer systems during 1997 was the installation of a Windows NT 4.0 network in the Lewistown headquarters office. A Dell PowerEdge 2200 network server was installed and all client workstations upgraded to Windows 95. The network is divided into 3 geographic workgroups, each served by a dedicated printer. Currently, Corel Office suite applications are being served and files are shared over the network.
Antivirus software was installed on all CMR computers after a field station PC was found to be infected with the NYB virus. All stations were upgraded to the latest version of ccMobile. Windows 95 upgrades were purchased for all field station PC's, which are being upgraded as time permits.
To better support the Refuge's growing GIS program, a Digital Alpha 433au workstation and ARC/INFO NT 7.1.2 were purchased. This extremely powerful workstation is necessary to handle the very large datasets required for a Refuge the size of CMR. PC ARC/INFO 3.5.1 and ArcView GIS 3.0a are also available to Refuge GIS specialists.
Public Use 1997 Annual Narrative home
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