Category Archives: Environmental Issues

Grizzly and black bear activity picks up in Northwest Montana

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,
Black Bear
Black Bear

From a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks press release . . .

A 3 year old male grizzly bear was captured April 10th at a private residence along Tamarack Road northwest of Columbia Falls. The 211 pound bear was captured by FWP Bear and Lion Specialist Erik Wenum after the resident reported a bear had killed some of his young chickens.

The young bear was anesthetized, radio-collared, and released by Grizzly Bear Management Specialist Tim Manley. The Interagency decision was made to release the bear back into the wild since it had no previous known conflicts. The grizzly bear was released on the afternoon of April 11th in the Whale Creek drainage of the North Fork of the Flathead, 34 straight line miles from where it was caught.

Black bear activity has picked up as well. FWP Bear and Lion Specialist Erik Wenum reports that he has handled two problem bears in the last two days and is attempting to trap four other black bears that have ranged close to residences. Wenum reminds
residents to take down bird feeders, secure garbage, feed pets inside, clean up chicken and livestock feed, and in general remove all odorous substances that can draw bears.

On Monday morning, a radio tracking flight was conducted to locate radio-collared grizzly bears in the Swan and Mission mountains. A total of 8 radio-collared grizzly bears were located. Seven of the bears were out of their dens, but still in the upper elevations in the snow. A total of 16 grizzly bears were observed which included cubs, yearlings, and two-year-olds that were with their mothers.

Additional flights are planned during the month of April to locate radio-collared grizzly bears in the Whitefish Range and the Middle Fork of the Flathead. One of the main objectives of the flights is to get visuals on adult females and the number of young they have when they first emerge from their dens. This allows biologists to track cub reproduction and cub survival throughout the year.

Manley reminds residents and recreationists to secure attractants and carry bear spray while in bear country. Residents can also protect their chickens, beehives, and other livestock from bears by properly installing and maintaining an electric fence. For more information you can visit the FWP website at http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/livingWithWildlife/beBearAware/ or at http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/livingWithWildlife/beBearAware/.

See also: Bears emerging early have run-ins with Montana residents (Missoulian)

Bears are emerging — and getting into stuff

Environmental Issues, News, ,
Brown Grizzly Bear - Wikipedia User Mousse
Brown Grizzly Bear – Wikipedia User Mousse

Here’s a good article from the Flathead Beacon about the local bears emerging from hibernation. It also discusses the usual spring headache of people not securing bear attractants . . .

With the arrival of spring, bears are emerging from their mountain dens and descending into the lower valleys in search of food, and one young bruin has already pried its way into a Whitefish home to snack on leftover Easter candy.

As local black bears and grizzlies begin to stir in the Flathead Valley, wildlife managers are receiving an uptick in reports of bear sightings and conflicts, prompting wardens to issue a stern reminder to residents who forget to lock up pet food, bird seed, trash, and other food attractants.

“It is entirely avoidable if we start at the beginning of the season and make a conscious effort to secure these food attractants,” Erik Wenum, bear and lion specialist with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said. “Bears don’t just go from wandering around in the woods doing bear things to going into homes. It’s a taught learning curve.”

Read more . . .

Grizzly mortality declines for 2015

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Grizzly Sow with Two Cubs - Wikipedia en:User Traveler100
Grizzly Sow with Two Cubs – – Wikipedia en:User Traveler100

There were fewer grizzly bear deaths last year in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem . . .

On the heels of the federal government’s proposal to delist the grizzly bear population in the Yellowstone National Park area, this year’s annual report on Glacier National Park and the surrounding region shows the population continuing to hit its recovery targets.

Grizzlies in the lower 48 states were listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1975, after their historic range and population plummeted over decades of over-harvesting and habitat loss.

The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem boasts the highest number of great bears among the five geographically distinct populations in the Northwest. It covers more than 5.7 million acres in Northwest Montana and includes Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and surrounding lands.

Documented mortalities in the Northern Continental population, now estimated at 982 individuals, dropped substantially in 2015 from the two preceding years. That’s something of a return to normal, according to Cecily Costello, a research wildlife biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks who was one of the lead authors on the annual report.

Read more . . .

Proposed Creston water bottling plant triggers unease

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Here’s an excellent article by Dillon Tabish of the Flathead Beacon on the concerns surrounding the proposed water bottling plant near Creston . . .

The Flathead Valley Deep Aquifer is a waterlogged mass of sand and gravel stretching thousands of feet beneath the entire local landscape. Primarily fed by snowmelt from the surrounding mountain ranges and precipitation, the massive aquifer is the main source of water in the valley as it flows south toward Flathead Lake, providing a vital resource to a growing collective of urban and rural communities and playing a critical role in the region’s environmental and ecological balance.

For as far-reaching and abundant as the local aquifer exists, worries are running just as deep in the agricultural community of Creston and beyond following a proposed water bottling plant on a slough along the Flathead River.

Lew Weaver, the owner of Montana Artesian Water Co., is seeking a water rights permit from the state to pump 710 acre-feet of water annually from the underground aquifer, the equivalent of 1.2 billion 20-ounce water bottles.

Read more . . .

Feds asking for public comments on grizzly delisting in Yellowstone region

Environmental Issues, News,
Grizzly bear sow with three cubs - NPS photo
Grizzly bear sow with three cubs – NPS photo

Here’s some useful information about Yellowstone grizzly bear delisting from an announcement passed along by John Frederick. Note the link at the end to a federal site for submitting written comments . . .

Last month the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a proposed rule that would remove Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region. Next week, the USFWS will be hosting a public meeting to explain the delisting rule and “Conservation Strategy” (how bears will be managed post-delisting). They will accept written and oral public comments at the meeting:

Tuesday, April 12, 5:00-8:00pm—Bozeman, MT—Holiday Inn, 5 E. Baxter Ln. There will also be an informational open house from 2-4pm before the public comment begins. (This meeting, and one the night before in Cody, WY are the only currently scheduled USFWS public meetings on Yellowstone grizzly bear delisting.)

While the recovery of this grizzly bear population has been an amazing Endangered Species Act success story, we need to make sure it continues if grizzly bears are delisted! Your comments and support for grizzly bear conservation is crucial to this effort.

Can’t make the meeting? Submit your written comment by May 10.

Frank Vitale: Bikes don’t belong in wilderness areas

Commentary, Environmental Issues, , , ,

NFPA member Frank Vitale’s op-ed in the Flathead Beacon has some pointed comments about mountain bikes in wilderness areas . . .

Mountain bikes should never be permitted in wilderness. Consider this potential scenario: A packstring is slowly making its way down through Gateway Gorge, coming off the bench from Sabido Cabin deep in the heart of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The trail is steep, rocky and narrow and it’s a long way down to the creek bottom.

The wreck took place about half way through the gorge. Half the packstring went off the edge. Two mules went down in the bottom, floundering and flopping around with broken legs; packs and gear strewn all over; pack boxes smashed to bits. The packer luckily stayed on his mount and tried to keep the rest of the string together. It started almost instantly, with no time for the packer to even know what was happening as two mountain bikers came down from the top, hell-bent for leather, and came up from behind the packstring.

Could this really happen? You bet. This could have been a U.S. Forest Service packer, an outfitter, or a group of family and friends out on a week-long pack trip in the wilderness. Somebody could have been killed. Continue reading Frank Vitale: Bikes don’t belong in wilderness areas →

Judge prods feds on wolverine protection

Environmental Issues, News, ,
Wolverine in snow - Steve Kroschel
Wolverine in snow – Steve Kroschel

Better late than never: The fight over wolverine protection made it into the New York Times . . .

Because it depends on heavy spring snowpack to excavate dens and safely raise its young near the top of mountain peaks high in the northern Rockies, the wolverine is on the front lines of battles over the effects of climate change.

There is less snow in the Rockies these days, and researchers forecast that in the coming decades, the wolverines in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming may disappear with the snowpack. Only about 300 of the animals are in the lower 48 states. In 2014, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service refused to list the animal for endangered species protection, calling the science inconclusive.

The debate over protection for the reclusive animal, the largest in the weasel family, has been going on for about 20 years, and it was revived this week by a federal court ruling here in Montana.

Read more . . .

Grizzlies up and moving early on the Rocky Mountain Front

Environmental Issues, News, ,
Grizzly Bear - Thomas Lefebvre, via Unsplash
Grizzly Bear – Thomas Lefebvre, via Unsplash

Grizzly bears are making an early start on the east side this year . . .

Grizzly bears on the Rocky Mountain Front are emerging from their dens this year earlier than ever after the mild winter, Montana wildlife officials said.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials flew over the area on Friday to check on nine bears that had been fitted with radio collars, the Great Falls Tribune reported. Eight were already gone, and several female bears had already traveled far down river drainages east of the mountains. One bear’s radio signal was picked up east of U.S. Highway 89 on the open plains near the Marias River.

“This is by far the earliest we’ve had as many transmitted grizzly bears outside of their dens,” FWP grizzly bear management specialist Mike Madel said.

Read more . . .

Lawsuit challenges Montanore Mine approval

Environmental Issues, News, , ,
Southern Cabinet Mountains, as seen from Swede Mountain, near Libby
Southern Cabinet Mountains, as seen from Swede Mountain, near Libby

The bell sounds for the next round of the fight over the Montanore Mine . . .

Environmentalists are challenging U.S. Forest Service approval of a $500 million copper and silver mine in northwest Montana, citing concerns from state officials that it could drain surrounding waterways and potentially harm a species of trout protected under federal law.

The lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Missoula challenges the Montanore Mine south of Libby near the Idaho border. Sponsor Mines Management Inc. of Spokane, Washington, has been seeking a mining permit since 2004.

But three groups said in Friday’s lawsuit that the government’s authorization for Montanore ignored studies of the mine’s environmental effects. Those government-sponsored studies concluded the mine potentially could drain groundwater supplies that feed into creeks and a river in the pristine area, an effect that could linger for centuries.

Read more . . .

Judge tells feds to get moving on wolverine protection

Environmental Issues, News, ,
Wolverine (Gulo gulo, female, born 1996) at the Helsinki Zoo
Wolverine (Gulo gulo)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service got dragged into court over their wolverine policy and got chewed out by the judge . . .

The Obama administration brushed over the threat that climate change poses to the snow-loving wolverine when it denied protections for the elusive predator also known as the “mountain devil,” a federal judge ruled Monday.

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen ordered wildlife officials to act as quickly as possible to protect the species as it becomes vulnerable to a warming planet. Wolverines need deep mountain snows to den, and scientists warn that such habitat will shrink as the planet heats up.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rejected the views of many of its own scientists in 2014 when it said the effects of climate change on wolverines remained ambiguous.

Read more . . .