Category Archives: Environmental Issues

“It’s time to pull in the bird feeders and secure the trash”

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The bears are off to an early start this year . . .

Bears are stirring earlier than usual and have already resumed behavior that led to a record number of captures last year.

Officials with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently relocated a 535-pound male grizzly bear that killed seven calves in four nights near Lincoln. The local FWP office has also been receiving reports of bear sightings near Whitefish and Columbia Falls.

The reemergence of bears has led to a campaign by wildlife officials reminding residents to clean up attractants that increase the likelihood of conflicts.

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Opinions decidedly mixed on new U.S. Forest Service planning rule

Environmental Issues, News,

The Missoulian takes on the thankless task of summarizing the new Forest Service planning rule . . .

The U.S. Forest Service’s recently released planning rule could turn the agency into a more efficient decisionmaker or create a department of perpetual planning, depending on who you listen to.

“We are ready to start a new era of planning that takes less time, costs less money and provides stronger protections for our lands and water,” Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said in an email announcing the final version of the rule. “This new rule will bring 21st century thinking to a process that is sorely needed to protect and preserve our 193 million acres of amazing forests and grasslands.”

Critics have been equally expansive. Andy Stahl of the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics predicted the process “would die of its own weight.”

“Anyone who thinks this rule will make forest plans quicker to develop is naive,” Stahl said . . .

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Researcher says bear spray stops angry grizzlies better than guns

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More evidence in support of bear spray. Also, read to the end to find our very own Frank Vitale’s bear spray story.

Bear spray doesn’t supply “brains in a can” to survive a grizzly attack, but it appears to work a lot better than spraying bullets.

That’s the conclusion researchers presented to more than 300 bear experts at the Fourth International Human-Bear Conflict Workshop in Missoula last week.

University of Calgary bear expert Steve Herrero was involved in two separate studies that looked at the effectiveness of bear spray and firearms in bear attacks . . .

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Less than two weeks to send comments in support of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act

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The Montana Wilderness Association (MWA) has been heavily involved in supporting the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act since its inception. Here’s a lightly edited excerpt from one of their recent announcement encouraging everyone to support this legislation . . .

Last Thursday, a bill to permanently protect the incomparable Rocky Mountain Front got its day in Congress with a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

This is a crucial step in the journey of a Heritage Act, a bill that will forever protect our wilderness heritage along the Front, including hundreds of miles of quiet trails and some of the finest backcountry hunting and fishing  in North America.

To help get this passed, Senator Max Baucus is asking for our support. The more demand we create for the Heritage Act the better chance we have of getting it signed into law this year.

To submit a comment in support of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, visit savethefront.org’s Quick Guide to Submitting Written Comments to the Congressional Record.

If needed, here are a few important points to remind lawmakers back in Washington, D.C.

Made-in-Montana

Montanan’s were able to work across party lines when crafting this legislation and now it’s the Senate’s chance to do the same and help pass it into law. Working together, ranchers, outfitters, business owners and conservationists listened to each other and to people from across the state.  The Heritage Act is product of five years of public meetings, countless kitchen table discussions and group meetings with permitees, landowners and local officials.

Big Game needs Big Country

Montana sportsmen and women get it.  Big, unbroken habitat means healthy big game herds and longer hunting seasons.  And keeping the Front just the way it is means the next generation of Montana hunters will have the same access and opportunity we have today.

Best Defense is a Good Offense

We can’t wait until elk have no food source, fish have no clear water and our native plants have nowhere to grow.  That’s why the Heritage Act will place a high priority on the eradication of noxious weeds on the Front and require land managers to prioritize their efforts.

For more information about the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act please visit savethefront.org or go to http://www.baucus.senate.gov.

Additional background can also be found at the MWA’s Rocky Mountain Front Wilderness Campaign page.

Flathead National Forest proposes logging to collect larch cones

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Here’s an obscure forest management issue . . .

Larch tree cones grow near the top of very tall trees, which makes them tough to collect for anything other than squirrels.

The Flathead National Forest needs a lot of larch cones for its reseeding efforts, and it’s seeking public comment on how best to get them. The trees have brittle branches and bark that flakes off easily, making them difficult for humans to climb. Another alternative is shooting cone-bearing branches off the tree. “That’s apparently not one we’re interested in,” Flathead Forest spokesman Wade Muelhof said. The cones aren’t much bigger than grapes, and lots of them get lost as the branches fall to the ground.

So the preferred alternative involves cutting down about 270 trees over 10 years to supply seedling needs.

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Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill gets a hearing

Environmental Issues, News,

Here’s the Missoulian’s take on yesterday’s Senate hearing on the Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill . . .

Supporters of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act had their day in Congress on Thursday when U.S. Sen. Max Baucus led off testimony on the bill.

“I think this is a no-brainer,” Baucus told Senate Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee chairman Sen. Ron Wyden. “There’s no conflict. People worked very hard to make this happen. I hope we can get this passed this year.”

Choteau rancher Dusty Crary called the bill “our homeland security bill.” The act would add 67,000 acres to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and designate another 208,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land as conservation management areas . . .

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Baucus introduces Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill

Environmental Issues, News,

Sen. Max Baucus’ Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill got a formal Senate hearing today . . .

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus on Thursday presented to a Senate panel his plan for new wilderness and conservation area along the Rocky Mountain Front, with high hopes and the backing of the Obama administration.

Baucus told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests that the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act comes from residents who spent years working on it. The bill aims to keep development and road access at current levels.

Baucus predicted it will succeed where other wilderness efforts have failed because it is a homegrown effort.

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Use of electricity as bear repellent gets more effective

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I kind of like the bit about the electrified mats . . .

The video makes dramatic evidence: A big sow grizzly and her cub approach a freezer in a Flathead County garage. The night before, they’d scored a load of frozen fish. They were back for more.

But this time, the sow steps on an electrified cattle mat placed in front of the freezer. She gives a startled “Woof!” and wheels away.

“I love the look on the cub’s face,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 bear manager Tim Manley.

The little bear gapes at mom for a second and seems to say ‘Yikes, wait for me!’ The family group was soon trapped and relocated, and hasn’t been in trouble since.

The use of electricity as a bear repellent has reached a level of effectiveness and creativity far beyond what was first deployed about 20 years ago . . .

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Glacier Park hopes to measure fisher population — if any

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Glacier Park thinks they might have a few fishers living within their boundaries. Now, they are going to try to find out for sure . . .

Every year, Glacier National Park biologist John Waller gets about a half-dozen reports from people who claim to have seen a fisher in the Park.

But the reports don’t come with photos. A few years ago Waller tried setting up some “hair traps” in the Park in hopes of snaring some fisher hair in wire brushes, but to no avail.

Now the Park will give it one last go. Through a $20,000 grant from the Glacier National Park Fund, a Park-wide fisher survey using bait stations and camera traps will try to, once and for all, see if there are truly any fishers in Glacier Park.

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