Category Archives: Environmental Issues

Some fear farm bill grant program could harm Montana elk

Environmental Issues, News, ,

A vaccine research provision in the recently passed farm bill has some folks worried that it could be used to fund ill-considered disease eradication programs in elk populations . . .

Some wildlife advocates worry a considerably rewritten wildlife disease provision in the final version of the federal farm bill will make it much harder to track livestock agencies’ efforts to control wild elk…

…[A] section called the Competitive, Special and Facilities Research Grant Act included a line calling for vaccine research to control “pests and diseases (especially zoonotic diseases) in wildlife reservoirs presenting a potential concern to public health or domestic livestock and pests and diseases in minor species (including deer, elk and bison).” That goes into a grant program authorized to spend about $3.5 billion over five years.

The problem, according to people like Glenn Hockett of the Gallatin Wildlife Association, is whether some of those grants will go toward the eradication of brucellosis in wildlife. Attempting to do so could devastate Montana’s wild elk herds without much benefit to its cattle industry, he said.

Read more . . .

Idaho trappers catch unexpected lynx; researchers attach tracking collar

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is finding lynx in unexpected places . . .

State biologists have put a satellite-tracking collar on a female Canada lynx captured alive by two trappers in northern Idaho.

The trappers called the Idaho Department of Fish and Game last week after finding the 17-pound lynx in one of their traps in the West Cabinet Mountains.

The agency is in the middle of a five-year attempt to collect information on 20 little-studied creatures in the Idaho Panhandle and northeastern Washington.

“I was surprised that there were lynx in the West Cabinets,” said Michael Lucid, who’s heading up the Multi-Species Baseline Initiative for Idaho Fish and Game. “It shows us how little we know about the animals that live in our forests.”

Read more . . .

Panel says assumption of ‘eastern wolf’ species not justified

Environmental Issues, News, ,

One of the assumptions basic to the federal government’s wolf recovery plan may be in error . . .

A proposal to lift federal protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. suffered a significant setback Friday as an independent review panel said the government is relying on unsettled science to make its case.

Federal wildlife officials want to remove the animals from the endangered species list across the Lower 48 states, except for a small population in the Southwest.

The five-member U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service peer-review panel was tasked with reviewing the government’s claim that the Northeast and Midwest were home to a separate species, the eastern wolf.

If the government were right, that would make gray wolf recovery unnecessary in those areas.

Read more . . .

Feds to spend $30M on forest restoration projects

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

The USDA is kicking off a number of forest restoration project this year. There’s nothing major in this neighborhood, apparently, but that may change in subsequent years . . .

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday it will spend $30 million this year on forest restoration projects in 12 states to reduce the threat of wildfires, protect water quality and improve wildlife habitat for at-risk species.

Those first 13 projects will be the start of a multi-year initiative to improve the health of forests and watersheds on public and private lands, Agriculture Undersecretary Robert Bonnie said.

With longer fire seasons in recent years burning more areas, and beetle outbreaks devastating more than 40 million acres of forests in the West, the pace and scale of restoration need to be increased, he said.

Read more . . .

House passes salvage logging bill, with extras

Environmental Issues, News,

The U.S. House recently passed a bill to ease salvage logging restrictions for trees burned in last year’s Rim Fire in California. It also has a few extras regarding grazing and the easing of activity restrictions in certain national parks. The bill is very unlikely to get through the Senate, but is worthy of note as a sort of position statement on certain issues . ..

The House approved a wide-ranging public lands bill Thursday that would speed logging of trees burned in last year’s massive Rim Fire in California.

The measure also allows vehicular access to North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore, extends livestock grazing permits on federal land in the West and lifts longstanding restrictions on canoes, rafts and other “hand-propelled” watercraft in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

The House approved the bill, 220-194, on a largely party-line vote. It now goes to the Senate, where it is considered unlikely to pass. The White House opposes the bill but has not issued a veto threat.

Read more . . .

Polar bear program Feb. 7 at SKC in Pablo

Environmental Issues, News, ,

For those of you who can’t go on one of Chuck Jonkel’s polar bear viewing trips to Churchill, Manitoba, here’s an alternative . . .

Here’s a chance to learn about an animal few people get to see in the wild.

Frank Tyro’s seen hundreds of them there.

Tyro, a professor and director of the Salish Kootenai College Media Center, will present a program on polar bears Friday, Feb. 7, on the SKC campus.

The talk takes place at noon at the Johnny Arlee/Victor Charlo Theatre.

Read more . . .

MTPR radio does segment on North Fork Watershed Protection Act

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

MTPR radio did a segment yesterday morning on the North Fork Watershed Protection Act, including a brief interview with Michael Jamison of the NPCA . . .

A major element for protection of the North Fork Flathead River Valley moved forward this week. Representative Steve Daines announced a bill that retires many oil and gas leases in the area unanimously passed the House Natural Resources Committee. The North Fork Watershed Protection Act of 2013 would restrict new mineral development in the North Fork of the Flathead.

This House bill mirrors one introduced by Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus.

Glacier Program Manager Michael Jamison with the National Parks Conservation Association said the issue was taken up by Senator Baucus when he was first in office, in the late 1970’s. At the time there were several proposals for mountain-top-removal coal mines in the Canadian Flathead.

Read more/listen to the segment . . .

Snowy owls spotted as far south as Florida this year

Environmental Issues, News,

Snowy owls, frequent winter visitors to Montana and other states in the northern tier, are showing up as far south as Florida this year . . .

The snowy owl seemed almost complacent, showing the confidence of a top predator whose bright yellow eyes suggested she might be sizing you up as a weaker combatant — or perhaps a large snack.

She had been where no bird should safely be — Logan International Airport in Boston — and now, regal and imposing in brief captivity, she represented the latest of her kind to arrive in a remarkable and growing winter’s wandering to the Lower 48.

Not only is the Boston area seeing the largest number of snowy owls ever recorded, they are popping up in territory far from their usual habitat near the Arctic Circle. Ecstatic bird watchers have spotted them perched atop the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and in Washington (where one made headlines for being struck by a bus), in Little Rock, Ark., and northern Florida — even in Bermuda.

Read more . . .

Montana FWP seeks comment on “bucket biology” rule

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Montana FWP is collecting comments on a proposed rule on how to handle incidents of “bucket biology,” the unauthorized dumping of live fish into public waters.

Here’s the press release . . .

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking comment on a draft rule that outlines how officials will respond to the unauthorized placement of live fish into public waters.

Commonly referred to as “bucket biology,” the unauthorized placement of fish is a crime of significant concern and is likely to have adverse impacts on aquatic resources, angling opportunities, and fish management costs.

Examples include the illegal dumping of northern pike in the Upper Missouri River near Toston and walleye placed in Noxon Rapids Reservoir in northwestern Montana.

The new rule commits FWP to launching investigations within 30 days of learning about an unauthorized placement of fish in streams or lakes, followed by the development of an action plan to remove or suppress the fish.

Management actions could include removing unauthorized fish with nets and electrofishing or by chemicals that can kill fish. Actions to suppress the fish include changes to fishing regulations, fishing contests, and use of commercial fishing.

An electronic database would be established to catalog unauthorized fish placements and FWP management actions underway.

Eight public hearings are scheduled in February and March to discuss and take comment on the proposed rule. The sessions will begin at 7 p.m. at following locations:

  • Feb. 24 Kalispell FWP Region 1 HQ; 490 N. Meridian Rd.
  • Feb. 25 Missoula FWP Region 2 HQ; 3201 Spurgin Rd.
  • March 3 Helena FWP HQ; 1420 E. Sixth Ave.
  • March 3 Bozeman FWP Region 3 HQ; 1400 S. 19th
  • March 4 Great Falls FWP Region 4 HQ; 4600 Giant Springs Rd.
  • March 11 Glasgow FWP Region 6 HQ; 54078 U.S. Highway 2 W.
  • March 11 Billings FWP Region 5 HQ; 2300 Lake Elmo Drive
  • March 11 Miles City FWP Region 7 HQ; 325 I-94 Business Loop

For more information or to comment on the proposed rule online, visit the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov. Click “Public Notices.” Comments, due by March 21, can be emailed to fwpfsh@mt.gov; or mailed to: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Fisheries Division, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701.

New fish species found in Idaho and Montana

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

U.S. Forest Service researchers discovered a new species of fish, the cedar sculpin, living in mountain rivers in Montana and Idaho . . .

A tiny fish characterized by a disproportionately large head and previously unknown to scientists has been found in mountain rivers of Idaho and Montana, in what biologists said on Thursday marked a rare discovery.

The new aquatic species is a type of freshwater sculpin, a class of fish that dwell at the bottom of cold, swift-flowing streams throughout North America and are known for their oversized head and shoulder structure.

“The discovery of a new fish is something I never thought would happen in my career, because it’s very rare in the United States,” said Michael Young, co-author of a scientific description of the find that has been published in the latest edition of the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.

Read more . . .