Category Archives: Environmental Issues

Judge orders endangered species status review for gray wolves in Northern Rockies

Environmental Issues, News, ,
Gray wolf - John and Karen Hollingsworth, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Gray wolf – John and Karen Hollingsworth, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Saw this coming . . .

Citing “serious and pervasive” deficiencies with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s basis for rejecting a 2021 petition by a coalition of environmental groups seeking to revive Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains, a federal judge in Missoula this week instructed wildlife managers to reconsider.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy issued the 105-page ruling in response to a lawsuit that conservation and animal welfare groups filed last year seeking to either restore protections, or afford new ones, to a distinct population of wolves spanning Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, as well as portions of Washington, Oregon and Utah…

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Grizzlies were raiding Montana farms. Then came some formidable dogs.

Environmental Issues, News,

Grizzly bears, gaping mawsA very interesting article from the New York Times discussing how folks on the east side of Montana’s Continental Divide are learning to deal with grizzlies as they return to their historic range . . .

The grizzly bears feasted on piles of spilled wheat and barley. They broke into grain bins. They helped themselves to apples from family orchards. Sometimes they massacred chickens or picked off calves.

Once nearly eradicated from the lower 48 United States, grizzlies are growing in population and spreading onto Montana’s plains, where they had not roamed in perhaps a century.

In their travels, they’ve acquired a fondness for the good eating to be found in farmyards.

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Montana passes landmark wildlife crossing legislation

Environmental Issues, Legislation, News
A wildlife overpass along U.S. Highway 93 in Montana - Kylie Paul, Center for Large Landscape Conservation
A wildlife overpass along U.S. Highway 93 in Montana – Kylie Paul, Center for Large Landscape Conservation

Montana now has some dedicated funding to support wildlife crossing efforts . . .

Montana has taken a major step toward protecting both wildlife and drivers with the passage of two groundbreaking pieces of legislation this spring: House Bill 855 and House Bill 932. Together, the bills establish the state’s first dedicated funding streams for wildlife crossings, structures proven to reduce collisions and improve landscape connectivity.

Montana currently has the second-highest per capita rate of wildlife-vehicle collisions in the United States. The average driver faces a 1 in 53 chance of hitting an animal each year and 13 percent of total reported collisions in the state related to wildlife, according to the Montana Department of Transportation. These crashes pose serious risks to people and animals alike, and cost Montanans tens of millions of dollars annually.

Kylie Paul, road ecologist at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, a nonprofit creating strategies to solve large-scale challenges like climate change and habitat fragmentation, told Mountain Journal the nonprofit supported the legislation.

“In Montana, we have  a lot of roads cutting through intact wildlife habitats and migration routes,” Paul said. “Many are high-speed, low-light and, to some level, still low-traffic highways which help animals still feel safe to move across them.”

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What could the end of the Roadless Rule mean for Montana’s national forests?

Environmental Issues, News
Flathead National Forest
Flathead National Forest

Here’s an excellent, objective and informative long-form article on the Roadless Rule written by Tristan Scott of the Flathead Beacon. Highly recommended . . .

When U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced last month that the administration was taking steps to rescind a decades-old policy to restrict road building and timber harvests on 58.5 million acres of national forest lands, she justified it as another step by the Trump administration to remove “absurd obstacles” that have stymied forest management and intensified the threat of wildfire.

Continue reading at the Flathead Beacon . . .

FWP releases grizzly bear conflict dashboard

Environmental Issues, News

Grizzly bear strolling along a roadFrom the FWP press release . . .

HELENA – In Montana, grizzly bear populations have expanded in both number and in distribution along both sides of the Continental Divide and in the Greater Yellowstone area. In many instances, grizzly bears are expanding into areas they haven’t been in more than a century.

With this expansion comes an increased focus by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to help people and communities stay safe and avoid conflicts. Across Montana’s bear country, FWP staff are working hard to respond to conflicts, provide tools to landowners and communities to prevent conflicts, and to educate people on how to stay safe.

As part of that effort, FWP unveiled a new Grizzly Bear Conflict Dashboard as a resource for information on where FWP staff are helping landowners and communities with conflicts and the types of conflicts people are experiencing.

Read full press release . . .

Feds to drop roadless restrictions on NW Montana forestland

Environmental Issues, News
Flathead National Forest
Flathead National Forest

We knew this was coming . . .

The federal government pledged to peel back protections on more than 1.1 million acres of forestland in Northwest Montana, opening vast swaths of the region to potential logging projects.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins vowed on June 23 to rescind longstanding federal restrictions on road construction and timber harvesting for 58.8 million acres of U.S. Forest Service land. The proclamation specifically targeted “Inventoried Roadless Areas,” including 478,000 acres in Flathead National Forest and 639,000 acres in Kootenai National Forest.

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‘Montana-Nepal-Human Carnivore Coexistence’ presentation at Sondreson Hall, 7pm, June 24

Environmental Issues, News, Prose and Poetry

On Tuesday, June 24th, 7:00pm at Sondreson Hall we welcome back North Fork neighbor, author, and world-renowned wildlife biologist, Diane Boyd. She will discuss wildlife-human challenges through the parallel lenses of Montana-Nepal-Human carnivore coexistence. A presentation of photos and videos will complement the conversation.

A short reading from A Woman Among Wolves and book signing will follow.

Snacks will be provided at both presentations and Q&As will follow!

The Phantom of the Rockies

Environmental Issues, Science
Roaming wolverine - USFWS
Roaming wolverine – USFWS

Great article about wolverines from the Mountain Journal . . .

Mist rises off the river, wetting our faces as we ford with chunks of slush bouncing off our waders. Stabbing the riverbed with ski poles, Mike Schadell and I struggle through the swift current, trying to find purchase on slimy river cobblestones. Our packs are weighed down by skis, dangling boots, three days of gear and a deer’s hindquarter.

We’re in Glacier National Park for an ongoing, multiyear, parkwide, noninvasive citizen science wolverine study in January 2010. Biologists had gathered data to estimate how many wolverines reside within the protected area’s boundaries. We each carry deer hindquarters to lure the largest mustelids to a post where steel wool brushes snag the animal’s hair, which we will gather and use to collect DNA.

Once across the river, we ski the undulating terrain through a mosaic forest of burnt black lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir and still-living, needleless larch trees. A fire raged through here years ago charring most of the woods. Deer, moose and wolf tracks punctuate the snow. A pine marten, a smaller member of the mustelid family, scampers from behind a tree. Its curiosity outweighs its elusive nature for a moment before it darts back into a dark hole at the base of an upturned root wad.

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