In turn, most wildlife that live in the lowlands depend on habitats provided by water. The habitats that wildlife depend on can be degraded and literally lost forever by our land and water uses. Brent Houston Wetlands and riparian areas are important habitat for wildlife. Riparian, floodplain and wetland habitats are all the more critical for species that are faring poorly, sometimes as a direct result of degradation or loss of these habitats. For example, most of the 13 species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act in Montana use rivers, wetlands or floodplains as habitat, as do several of the 8 species that are candidates for listing under the act in Montana.
Neotropical migrants are songbirds like warblers, vireos, thrushes and some predatory birds.
These birds nest in Montana but winter in the tropics. Some of these birds are declining in numbers, possibly as a result of habitat loss. Protection under the Endangered Species Act has been sought for the Yellowstone cutthroat trout and the Westside cutthroat trout, two Montana natives with surviving populations in the high-elevation streams of the Gallatin. With so many species affected by changes to intact, functional riparian and wetland habitats, careful stewardship of these areas has never been more important. Over time, loss of vegetation due to development practices or fragmentation of vegetation patterns by the intrusion of development into wetlands, stream corridors and floodplains can affect how animals use these areas.