Category Archives: News

Wolf season ends with 230 wolves taken

Environmental Issues, News,

The harvest was 230 wolves for this year’s wolf hunt, only five more than last year when the rules were more restrictive . . .

Hunters and trappers in Montana killed 230 wolves during the recently concluded wolf season.

That’s only five more wolves than the prior year’s wolf harvest despite the lifting of quotas on the animals across most of the state and a higher bag limit for individual hunters.

Hunters took 144 wolves during a season that started in September and ended Saturday. Trappers took 86 wolves.

Read more . . .

Congress working on new way to find major wildfires

Fire Information and Status, News,

A bipartisan effort is shaping up to devise a better funding formula for handling big wildfires . . .

A bipartisan effort is underway in Congress to change the way the country pays to battle its most catastrophic wildfires.

Lawmakers from Oregon and Idaho met with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Monday to discuss the budget reform.

President Barack Obama’s proposed budget would prevent the diversion of money intended for forest thinning and other wildfire prevention efforts.

Read more . . .

Interior Secretary discusses North Fork legislation at local meeting

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, along with Senators Jon Tester and John Walsh, were in town Saturday at the Hungry Horse Ranger Station to talk about the North Fork Watershed Protection Act and allied subjects.

(That doggone Frank Vitale sure gets around.  Watch the associated video. You’ll see Frank, as well as some other familiar faces.) . . .

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell made a trip to Hungry Horse Saturday with Senators Jon Tester and John Walsh to discuss recent North Fork legislation.

Secretary Jewell greeted those in attendance at the Hungry Horse Ranger station, and then talked about the recent North Fork Legislation.

The North Fork Watershed Protection Act would protect over 430,000 acres of land along the north and middle forks of the Flathead River from energy development.

Secretary Jewell stressed the importance of protecting Montana’s natural resources, and also spoke about the economic benefits of outdoor recreation.

Read more . . .

Further reading: The Flathead Beacon has a more detailed write-up.

Ethyl the grizzly taking the tour

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Researchers are having a good time tracking the extensive wanderings of Ethyl, a 20-year-old female grizzly . . .

The 20-year-old female grizzly Ethyl has become a seeker, a wanderer.

The Montana bear hasn’t been acting her age, and fortunately researchers – with a tracking collar – have been able to document her impressive journey from her home state to North Idaho. They lost track of her exact location in late December, but starting next month they expect to pick up her signal again.

They’re anxious to know where she ended up for hibernation, and where she’ll venture next.

Read more . . .

North Fork – one more step forward

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

The Missoula Independent gave the North Fork Watershed Protection Act some attention this week . . .

Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed the North Fork Watershed Protection Act in what conservationists hailed as a critical step for wildlife and clean water in northwest Montana. That approval, secured by Rep. Steve Daines, marks the most significant advancement yet in a fight former Sen. Max Baucus waged over four decades in Congress.

The moment itself passed quickly, in a manner typically used to approve small, non-controversial bills. The measure’s speedy passage on the House floor was attributed to the widespread bipartisan support it has gained over time. Proponents now include county commissions, city officials, chambers of commerce, sporting groups and business leaders across western Montana. Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP America and ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy have backed the bill as well.

Read more . . .

Cabinet Mountains moose population study continues

Environmental Issues, News,

The decline in the Moose population is causing concern and triggering a series of studies in manyparts of the country, including an ongoing effort in the Cabinets . . .

State wildlife researchers darted and captured seven cow moose in the eastern stretch of the Cabinet Mountains south of Libby this week and fitted them with radio collars as part of an ongoing research project.

According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Research Technician Jesse Newby, biologists are looking at disease load and other measures of the animals’ health, reproductive rates, and calf survival for the collared moose. This brings the total to 16 moose that are radio-collared in the East Cabinets area.

Hunters in the East Cabinets consistently harvest 15-25 moose annually, and concerns about shrinking moose populations have led to a study on disease, parasites, predation, lack of logging, and poor habitat.

Read more . . .

New FWP rules allow landowners to kill wolves

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Landowners can now kill wolves without a license under certain circumstances . . .

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted new administrative rules for killing wolves that pose a threat to landowners’ safety on Thursday.

The rule change stemmed from a bill the Legislature passed in the 2013 session allowing landowners to kill wolves without first getting a license if they threaten human safety, livestock or dogs. But it also gave the agency a chance to clear up some confusing parts of the state administrative law book, according to FWP wildlife management section chief Quentin Kujala.

“It’s not the easiest thing to read,” Kujala said. “We took more than 1,300 public comments on this.”

The new rules also change the definition of a breeding pair of wolves – a crucial part of the federal oversight of sustainable wolf populations…

Read more . . .

Montana’s hibernating bears soon up and about

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

It’s that time of year again when hungry bears start to emerge from hibernation . . .

Montana’s hibernating black bears and grizzly bears will soon be stirring.

Adult males usually emerge first from winter dens in mid-March. When bears emerge from their dens they are physically depleted and food is a priority.

Bears are often tempted to go where raccoons and domestic dogs are getting into garbage. If these animals are already causing problems near-by, consider it an early warning that food attractants are available and need to be removed.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ bear experts stress that conflict prevention steps can greatly reduce the chances of attracting black bears and grizzly bears.

Read more . . .

North Fork Watershed Protection Act would not terminate existing leases

Environmental Issues, News,

Over at the Hungry Horse News, Chris Peterson put together a good report on the remaining mineral leases in the North Fork and Middle Fork drainages . . .

The North Fork Watershed Protection Act passed the House on a voice vote last week — one step closer to becoming law — but the act doesn’t address existing leases in the drainage, some of which are right on the edge of the Great Bear Wilderness.

The act only prohibits any new energy leases in the North Fork and Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

All told, energy companies once held about 246,000 acres of leases in the North and Middle Forks of the Flathead. Since the bill was introduced by former Montana Sen. Max Baucus a few years ago, several companies, including Conoco-Phillips, relinquished their claims.

Read more . . .

A new approach to paying for major wildfires

Fire Information and Status, News,

The Obama administration wants to pay for catastrophic wildfires with natural disaster funds . . .

The Obama administration’s proposed 2015 budget aims to change how the federal government pays for catastrophic wildfires.

In the past, large wildfires were paid for through the Forest Service budget. If a large fire broke out, the service would “borrow” money from funds used for forest restoration and other projects.

In the past, the Forest Service spent about 16 percent of its total budget on firefighting. But in more recent years, that figure has dramatically increased to about 40 percent, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said last week.

Read more . . .