Category Archives: Environmental Issues

Montana FWP Commission extends wolf hunt to Feb. 15

Environmental Issues, News, ,

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

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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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Wolf quota reached in one district in northwest Montana

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From the Daily Inter Lake . . .

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has closed wolf hunting in a district covering areas east of Kalispell and in the Swan Valley because the allotted quota was recently met.

The quota for District 130 was 12 wolves, and over the weekend the state announced that the quota had been met and the district would be closed as of sunset Monday…

The Montana wolf hunt is scheduled to continue through Dec. 31. A proposal to extend it one more month is under consideration.

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Wolf hunt wraps up today in parts of Flathead County

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From today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

Wildlife officials are closing down the gray wolf season in portions of western Montana where hunters have met the state’s annual quota.

Officials said hunting in Wolf Management Unit 130 was to end a half-hour after sunset on Monday because the area’s 12-wolf quota has been filled. That includes portions of Flathead, Lake and Missoula counties.

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Public not getting the word on avoiding bears

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No one who has spent much time on the North Fork will be surprised by the material discussed in this Associated Press article about grizzly bear encounters by inexperienced hikers.

However, there is a startling statement near the end that makes the whole article worth reading . . .

Officials recommend hikers carry bear spray, not run from grizzlies, and not hike alone.

Meanwhile, a representative of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment said a new study there found more evidence of Canadian black bears making predatory attacks on humans.

“We’re used to defensive attacks by grizzly bears, that are usually triggered by protecting cubs or food or space,” said Tony Hamilton. “But now we’re seeing black bears that have typically had no previous human contact looking at us as potential prey…

Read the entire article . . .

Less than half of wolf quota killed so far; extended hunt possible

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From today’s Missoulian . . .

Hunters across Montana had killed less than half the quota of wolves set by state biologists as of Sunday, the end of rifle season for deer and elk.

The state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks had recorded that hunters had shot 99 wolves by Sunday across 14 management units. The quota was reached in only one wolf district, the large unit that stretches from just east of Butte to the North Dakota state line.

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Bugs, fire, politics to transform western Montana forests

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Here’s a pretty good discussion of the impacts on Montana’s forests over the next 50 years or so. Interestingly, some of the changes may actually restore earlier, healthier conditions . . .

Three things will combine to radically transform Montana forests in the next 50 years: bugs, fire and politics.

Mountain pine beetles have killed millions of acres of lodgepole pine trees. Those dead stands, combined with a progressively drier climate, will likely burn in wilder, more intense fashion. The biological aftermath should bring a wider mix of tree species, open areas and wildlife habitat, according to new computer models.

How humans tinker with that progression remains a wildcard…

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Big game hunting season ends Sunday in Montana; wolf hunt continues until year-end

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Montana’s big game season will end as scheduled, but the wolf hunt will continue. So far, hunters have taken only 96 of the allowed 220 wolves.

Here’s the lead-in from an AP article discussing this . . .

Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials say Montana’s 2011 general big game hunting season will end Sunday evening, as planned, while wolf hunting will continue at least through the end of the year.

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Relocated grizzlies raise concerns for residents of Northwest Montana

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An interesting article from today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

A rash of grizzly bear incidents in Northwest Montana has led to one of the busiest years ever involving captures and relocations, according to Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

FWP has made 43 grizzly bear captures in Region 1 because of problem incidents this year, one of the highest numbers ever, according to FWP.

“This valley is a real grizzly hot spot,” FWP spokesperson John Fraley said.

Six grizzlies have had to be euthanized in recent months and one has been transferred to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone following problems, Fraley said.

Fraley attributes the increase in numbers to the fact that the grizzly population has recovered in the Northern Rockies in recent years, with an estimated 1,000 bears living in the region.

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