All posts by nfpa

Researcher investigates U.S. and Mongolian wolverines

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Here’s an interesting article on a wolverine researcher who splits her time between the U.S. and Mongolia . . .

She was told not to get her hopes up, that some people had worked on wolverine studies for 20 years and never seen one of the creatures in the wild.

So Rebecca Watters wasn’t expecting much on the backpacking trip into Montana’s Absaroka Mountains six years ago — a scouting trip seeking signs of wolverines.

While washing dinner dishes near a stream she heard her trip leader, wildlife biologist Jason Wilmot, screaming at his dog. “Dusty! No!” he yelled. Watters couldn’t imagine what was happening, but her senses went on high alert. The Absarokas, after all, are grizzly and black bear country. As it turned out, Wilmot’s pup was on a collision course with a curious wolverine that had wandered over to investigate the campers along the talus slope.

Read more . . .

Winter Trails Day in the Flathead Valley

News,

This turned up on the Flathead National Forest web site. It sounds pretty interesting . . .

The Flathead Community of Resource Educators (CORE), a network of individuals and organizations working together to increase awareness and understanding about the natural, historical and cultural resources of the Flathead Region, is celebrating Winter Trails Day on Saturday, January 11 with several free outdoor activities.

These free activities are a great way to enjoy the outdoors in winter and discover the fitness and social benefits of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in Northwest Montana. All activities are suitable for beginners and families. Be prepared with warm clothing and wear sturdy hiking shoes or boots.

Continue reading . . .

Endangered Species Act’s 40th draws praise and some grumbling

Environmental Issues, News,

The Endangered Species Act turns 40 on December 28. Here’s a pretty good review of its history and current status . . .

Last Thursday, a bald eagle devoured a goldeneye duck on the ice beside Brennan’s Wave, just downstream of Missoula’s Higgins Avenue Bridge.

Such a sight was inconceivable 40 years ago, when the nation’s mascot was disappearing from its skies and just 12 breeding pairs were known in Montana. The bald eagle was one of the “charismatic megafauna” that helped pass the Endangered Species Act, which soon had more than 1,200 plants and animals under its protection.

Read more . . .

Comments on Glacier Park lake trout removal due by Jan. 24

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Glacier National Park wants to continue work on removing non-native lake trout from its waterways. Comments on the proposal are due by January 24 . . .

Glacier National Park is home to approximately one-third of the nation’s bull trout population that lives in natural, undammed lake systems.

That gives the park a critical role in regional bull trout recovery and long-term conservation, according to Glacier management assistant Denise Germann.

To that end, proposals to continue lake trout suppression on Quartz Lake and start lake trout removal on Logging Lake are now available for public review and comment.

Comments on the environmental assessment are due Jan. 22.

Read more . . .

For more information on the Glacier Park lake trout suppression project, including online comments, see: http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/LoggingQuartz

Grizzly bear populations approach delisting status

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The Flathead Beacon has a good write-up on grizzly bear recovery . . .

Grizzly bears, the iconic species that once roamed the Western landscape before being threatened nearly to oblivion, have staged an historic comeback across the northern Rockies.

That much is not debatable. The question now is where do grizzlies go from here?

Wildlife officials are preparing to restart the process of removing special protections under the Endangered Species Act for bears near Yellowstone National Park. The move could occur as early as next month and lead the way for other delisting proposals, including one for Northwest Montana’s robust population.

Read more .  . .

Tester’s forest bill passes Senate committee

Environmental Issues, News,

A tweaked version of Senator John Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act made it through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this morning . . .

A new version of Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act passed a divided Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday morning, clearing a path for the full Senate to consider it.

The latest draft of the four-year-old bill keeps a mandate to harvest or thin 100,000 acres of timber in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Kootenai national forests over 15 years. But it switches about 23,000 acres of proposed wilderness into less-restrictive recreation areas.

That brings the tally to about 637,000 acres of new wilderness and 360,000 acres of recreation areas allowing some motorized or commercial use in Montana.

Other changes include a requirement for the U.S. Forest Service to file a compliance report if it fails to meet the bill’s performance requirements, and a guarantee the Montana pilot program won’t draw funds from other state programs or Forest Service regions.

Read more . . .

Baucus to be nominated as next ambassador to China

News,

This will stir things up a bit . . .

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., as ambassador to China, Democratic officials said Wednesday, turning to a lawmaker well-versed in trade issues to fill one of the nation’s most sensitive diplomatic posts.

If confirmed by the Senate, Baucus would replace Ambassador Gary Locke, who announced last month he was stepping down.

An announcement of Baucus’ appointment is expected as early as Thursday.

Read more . . .

Preliminary results in for year’s Aquatic Invasive Species Program

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Montana FWP released early numbers for this year’s Aquatic Invasive Species Program . . .

Preliminary results from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Aquatic Invasive Species Program show that 17 stations across the state inspected 30,376 watercraft and 367 failed.

That included 26,224 in-state and 4,152 out-of-state watercraft as of Sept. 30. Most of FWP’s roadside inspection stations closed after Labor Day, but several stayed open a few weeks later.

The violations broke down to 234 watercraft with vegetation that wasn’t Eurasian milfoil, 79 with standing water, 37 with Eurasian milfoil, 13 with zebra or quagga mussels, 10 with marine organisms and six with illegal bait.

Read more . . .

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service delays decision on wolverine protection

Documents, Environmental Issues, News, ,

Over at the Missoulian, Rob Chaney posted more information about the delay in extending federal protections to wolverines . . .

Disputes over the science of wolverines has prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take an extra six months of study before it decides whether to put the elusive carnivore on the endangered species list.

The agency already extended its public comment period once through Dec. 2, after receiving conflicting opinions on the reliability of available research earlier this year. Wolverines had been considered “warranted but precluded” from ESA protection until 2012, when FWS decided to make a more thorough review.

“During the six-month extension, we will be formally engaging with experts in the scientific community to further evaluate areas of scientific disagreement and uncertainty as they relate to the wolverine delisting,” the agency said in a written statement Tuesday. “We intend that any final action resulting from these proposals be based on the best scientific and commercial data available and be as accurate and as effective as possible.”

Read more . . .

Note: The instructions in the article for retrieving information about the proposed rule to list wolverines under the Endangered Species Act have minor errors. The best approach seems to be to open the entire “docket folder” and browse the contents.

Decision on federal wolverine protections delayed

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The feds kicked the can down the street a little farther, delaying a decision on placing wolverines under Endangered Species Act protection . . .

Federal wildlife officials have delayed until next summer a decision on whether wolverines should receive more federal protections.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday that the delay will be used to address questions about the impacts of climate change on wolverine habitat. Spokesman Steve Segin says the agency will decide by Aug. 4 if wolverines should be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Read more . . .