Category Archives: Environmental Issues

Obama administration releases new forest management rules

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

A shiny, new set of national forest management rules are due to take effect in early March . . .

The Obama administration says new rules to manage nearly 200 million acres of national forests will protect watersheds and wildlife while promoting uses ranging from recreation to logging.

The new rules, to replace guidelines thrown out by a federal court in 2009, are set to take effect in early March. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the rule change on Thursday.

Vilsack said in an interview that the rules reflect more than 300,000 comments received since a draft plan was released last year. The new rules strengthen a requirement that decisions be based on the best available science and recognize that forests are used for a variety of purposes, Vilsack said.

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More snowy owls migrate to Montana this winter

Environmental Issues, News

This is pretty interesting. It seems Montana is getting more than its share of snowy owls this winter . . .

More snowy owls appear to have migrated from the Arctic to Montana and other states this winter in search of food.

The owls are identifiable by their brilliant white color, measure 2 feet tall or taller and have wingspans of nearly 5 feet.

In Montana, the owls have been seen from Kalispell to Plentywood and as far south as the Crow Reservation.

Last week, one snowy owl was spotted in the area of the Kidsports complex and Glacier High School in north Kalispell while five owls were observed in the Somers area.

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Wolf hunting to close in large section of NW Montana; quota reached

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This AP article is referring to Wolf Management Unit 101, which covers a good portion of Flathead and Lincoln counties. Wolf hunting is still open in Unit 110, covering the North Fork. See the FWP Wolf Hunting Guide page for more detail . . .

Wildlife officials say wolf hunting will close in portions of northwest Montana on Thursday after hunters filled the harvest quota for the area.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Tom Palmer said hunters filled the 19-wolf quota for a wildlife management area that includes portions of Lincoln and Flathead counties.

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Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act dead for 2011

Environmental Issues, News,

It’s official, Sen. Jon Tester’s “Forest Jobs and Recreation Act” is dead for this year . . .

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act was not included in a House version of the 2012 omnibus bill to fund the federal government that was released Thursday morning, setting off a round of finger-pointing between his office and that of Rep. Denny Rehberg.

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Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act might get a shot before year-end

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From today’s Missoulian . . .

Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act may get a last-minute vote before Congress closes out 2011.

But a lot of other Montana-related legislation will probably give the hurly-burly of December’s must-pass congressional action a pass. That includes Sen. Max Baucus’ Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, Rep. Denny Rehberg’s Montana Land Sovereignty Act, and the Flathead Watershed Protection Act that both Baucus and Tester co-sponsored. However, Rehberg may get a vote on a measure to fast-track permitting of a U.S.-Canadian oil pipeline.

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Grizzly bear sightings increasing on Montana’s Beartooth Front

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From the Associated Press . . .

Wildlife biologists say that reports of grizzly bears are increasing in Montana’s Beartooth Front, but it’s difficult to tell if there are more bears or just more bear sightings.

Barb Pitman, wildlife biologist with the Beartooth Ranger District in Red Lodge, told The Billings Gazette it’s not clear if there are simply more people exploring bear country.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen says bears are pushing out in all directions from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem…

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Headwaters Montana starts “Flathead River Otter” Facebook page

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

This is kind of fun. Headwaters Montana started up a “Flathead River Otter” Facebook page to increase awareness of the Flathead watershed and provide a place for informal discussion. If you’re on Facebook, wander over there and “like” the otter’s page . . .

Folks, no one knows the Flathead River and Flathead Lake better than the Flathead River Otter. If you love the Flathead, you “otter” like this page and share it with your friends!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flathead-River-Otter/214196345315615

New rule proposed to end endangered species listings by state

Environmental Issues, News,

The federal government has proposed a new rule to govern endangered species listings that seems to make no one happy except, perhaps, a few attorneys and policy wonks. Here’s today’s AP coverage . . .

The Obama administration proposed a new rule that would end a practice in which some endangered species were classified differently in neighboring states.

The new policy would clarify that a plant or animal could be listed as threatened or endangered if threats occur in a “significant portion of its range,” even if the threat crosses state lines and does not apply in the species’ entire range.

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Montana FWP Commission extends wolf hunt to Feb. 15

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As expected, Montana FWP extended the wolf hunt into next year — not expected was its extension to Feb. 15 . . .

Montana on Thursday extended its wolf hunt to Feb. 15 as the number of predators killed so far has fallen far short of the quota of 220 animals.

The state’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission also approved a plan to allow hunters to assist state and federal officials in killing problem wolves that prey on livestock, a duty that previously solely belonged to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services.

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Officials debate way forward on grizzly bear management

Environmental Issues, News, ,

A good article by Rob Chaney posted recently to the Missoulian . . .

As the Rocky Mountain grizzly bear population grows, its managers have encountered something of a vision problem: They’re not sure what success looks like.

“We have a pretty good road map on how to recover grizzly bears – reduce mortality and provide them a place to live, and bears will slowly increase,” Idaho Game and Fish Director Jim Unsworth told his colleagues at the Interagency Grizzly Bear Commission last week in Missoula. “I’d like to see us move more into proven areas instead of hanging out in the past.”

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