Plans are afoot again this year to capture grizzly bears for research purposes . . .
Biologists will begin capturing grizzly bears in northwestern Montana this month as part of ongoing research into the population of the threatened species.
The work will take place in the Blackfoot Valley, along the Rocky Mountain Front, in the Swan and Clearwater River Valleys, within Glacier National Park, and in the North and Middle Forks of the Flathead River.
Grizzly bears, as well as black bears, are coming out of hibernation and looking for food. “Bear aware” North Forkers will be making sure they have no bear attractants on their property such as smelly trash, bird feeders, animal feed, downed apples and so forth. The Creston area has had several bear incidents already and Glacier Park reports evidence their Grizzlies are stirring. Here are the stgories . . .
Creston seems to be the place for grizzlies this spring – Creston apparently is a hot spot for grizzly bear activity this spring, with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials aware of at least four bears in the area. Continue reading . . .
Glacier Park Officials: Grizzly Bears Emerging From Dens – Grizzly bears are out of their dens and roaming throughout Glacier National Park, according to park officials. Recent observations of bear tracks in the snow indicate bears are emerging from hibernation and looking for food, according to an announcement from park officials. Continue reading . . .
Today’s news has information on drops in the wolf population in two areas of the U.S. Both declines are attributed to hunting pressures . . .
Northern Rockies See Sharp Drop in Wolves – Aggressive gray wolf hunting and trapping took a toll in much of the Northern Rockies last year as the predator’s population saw its most significant decline since being reintroduced to the region two decades ago. Yet state and federal wildlife officials said Friday that the population remains healthy overall, despite worries among some wildlife advocates over high harvest rates. Its range is even expanding in some areas as packs take hold in new portions of eastern Washington state and Oregon. Continue reading . . .
Number of wolves in Alaska’s Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve drops by more than 50 percent – Wolves in Alaska are known to have healthy population numbers. Yet now, it turns out that Alaska’s predator control program has resulted in the number of wolves in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve to drop by more than half. The National Park service counted 80 wolves over nine packs in November 2012. This spring, though, the numbers have dropped drastically. Biologists have only been able to account for 28 to 39 wolves in six different packs–it’s the highest drop in numbers since the park service began tracking wolves 19 years ago. Continue reading . . .
The Gateway-to-Glacier Trail organization is showing two North Fork-related documentaries in a fund raiser at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish, on April 26. “Mercantile” is about — what else? — the Polebridge Mercantile. “The Lookout” centers around Thoma Lookout . . .
Gateway-to-Glacier Trail is offering a redux of movie night, this time at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish, to give those who weren’t able to last month a chance to see two documentaries by Brian Bolster.
The original movie night in March was so successful, attendees had to be turned away because the room capacity was exceeded. This movie night, scheduled for April 26 at the Whitefish venue, will feature Bolster’s Northwest Montana documentaries.
Leif Haugan will show “Mercantile,” Bolster’s short documentary on the Polebridge Mercantile, featuring an inside look at the Merc’s baking operation in a rustic setting…
Haugen is the focus of the second award-winning documentary film, “The Lookout,” which features the Flathead National Forest’s Thoma Lookout, above the North Fork of the Flathead River Drainage, a few miles south of the Canadian border…
The U.S. Forest Service is implementing a rule change that allows discussion of a project with affected parties before a final decision is made.
No, really. This is actual news, not simply common sense. You just can’t make this stuff up . . .
In U.S. Forest Service-speak, we’re switching from a 215 to a 218.
The difference in digits determines how and when someone can protest a timber sale or a road decommissioning, or any other Forest Service project that needs an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment.
Under rule 215, you appeal the decision after it’s announced. Under rule 218, you object before the decision is made.
“The idea is we can sit down together and work out the issues,” said Ray Smith, Forest Service Region 1 objections and appeals coordinator. “It’s really important – the work together part.
“Under the appeal process, an appellant couldn’t sit down with the person who made the decision or the person who’s reviewing the project. It’s all separate, all isolated. You even need a specific official document to communicate. That isolated everybody, and made it difficult to have good back-and-forth dialogue.”
Those wishing to indulge in a little pothole avoidance take note: I checked Glacier Park’s web site this morning and Camas Road is now listed as being opened.
U.S. Rep. Steve Daines is trying to get a feel for the level of community support for the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act . . .
A listening session hosted by Rep. Steve Daines to gather public input on a bill that would preserve current conditions on some 275,000 acres of public land on the Rocky Mountain Front drew 200 people to Choteau on Wednesday afternoon.
Supporters of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act made a stronger showing at the meeting, but Daines found out the bill has both passionate supporters and detractors. Residents from Choteau, Augusta and other Front communities were joined at the meeting by Montanans from as far away as Missoula, Polson and Bozeman.
First-term U.S. Rep. Steve Daines announced strong support for the North Fork watershed protection effort . . .
Citing the importance of responsible land-use policies and protecting Montana’s pristine outdoors, U.S. Rep. Steve Daines announced his plans to introduce legislation that would prevent industrial development in the North Fork Flathead River watershed on the western edge of Glacier National Park.
Daines, a Republican serving in his first term, stated his intentions to spearhead a bill in the House of Representatives similar to the North Fork Watershed Protection Act, which Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus reintroduced in February.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering a blanket delisting of wolves from the Endangered species List in all the lower 48 states . . .
Western environmental groups say they’re alarmed that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering a plan to end federal protections for gray wolves in vast areas where the animals no longer exist.
The groups say ending federal protections would keep wolves from expanding their range back into states that could support them, including Colorado and California.
A study is underway in the southwest Crown of the Continent ecosystem that attempts to gather more information on smaller, elusive predators such as wolverine, lynx and fisher . . .
A compact disc dangling from the branch of a lodgepole pine catches the morning sunlight and mimics the flash of a snowshoe hare, while the hindquarters of a road-kill deer wired to a nearby bear-rub tree will lure in a suite of small, elusive carnivores that range in the Swan Valley.
Wolverine, lynx and fisher will visit the “bait station,” which bristles with gun bore brushes that collect clumps of the critters’ fur. Subsequent DNA testing, to be completed this summer, will identify the individual animals and help establish a baseline for population and distribution of the three target species, as well as other small carnivores that sniff out the carrion – bobcat, coyote, fox, pine martens, and weasel.