It looks like the final numbers are now in for the Montana and Idaho wolf hunts. Montana, which added a trapping season this year, is up by about a third. Curiously, Idaho’s totals are down quite a bit.
Here are the stories . . .
Wolf Hunt Ends with 36 Percent Increase Over Last Season – Flathead Beacon
Idaho officials report 245 wolves killed this season, down from 379 – Missoulian
Oregon has had a ban on killing wolves since September 2011 . . .
As long as wolves have been making their comeback, biologists and ranchers have had a decidedly Old West option for dealing with those that develop a taste for beef: Shoot to kill. But for the past year, Oregon has been a “wolf-safe” zone, with ranchers turning to more modern, nonlethal ways to protect livestock.
While the number of wolves roaming the state has gone up, livestock kills haven’t — and now conservation groups are hoping Oregon can serve as a model for other Western states working to return the predator to the wild.
Erin Sexton won an award for her work over the last decade to protect the transboundary Flathead Valley . . .
Earlier this month University of Montana Research Scientist Erin Sexton was awarded the 2012 Conservation Achievement Award for her work in developing a long-term solution in protecting the Flathead Basin ecosystem.
The Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society presented the highly coveted award to Sexton at its Feb. 7 annual meeting.
Sexton served as the transboundary coordinator for the state of Montana and is a research scientist at UM’s Flathead Lake Biological Station. During the past 10 years, Sexton has been a leader in protecting the international Flathead River for generations to come.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is seeking public comment on their current Flathead River Hybrid Trout Suppression Project . . .
As part of ongoing efforts to maintain populations of native westslope cutthroat trout, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is proposing to continue removing hybrid and rainbow trout from the Flathead River drainage.
The public has until March 8 to comment on the Flathead River hybrid trout suppression project’s environmental assessment draft, released earlier this month for a 30-day public review. The project could get underway a week later on March 15, according to an anticipated schedule.
Related reading: Flathead River Hybrid Trout Suppression Project
Do fishers live in Glacier Park? Probably not, but there are a lot of good reasons to look . . .
After wading across the Middle Fork of the Flathead River in a pair of brand-new defective waders and skiing sodden-footed through a miles-long thicket of tangled deadfall, Glacier National Park wildlife biologist John Waller admits he may be chasing a phantom.
His research often requires skiing across 15 miles of steep, rugged terrain in a single day and working from dawn until dusk – a trying effort for what may prove to be the wildlife biologist’s equivalent of a snipe hunt. But even if the critter he’s pursuing eludes him, and even though the ultra-lightweight Hodgman waders he just bought are worthless, the scientific data Waller’s study will produce and the questions it may help answer are invaluable.
It’s time to take another run at it. The Baucus/Tester-sponsored Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act has been reintroduced in this session of Congress . . .
After a near-miss last year, the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act has been reintroduced in the 113th Congress, on the 100th anniversary of the Sun River Game Preserve.
The bill, co-sponsored by Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, would protect wilderness, ranching and recreation opportunities in the mountain range between Augusta and Dupuyer, west of Great Falls. It would designate 208,000 acres as a conservation management area that allows motorized access, biking and other current uses, add another 67,000 acres to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, and support noxious weed prevention programs for agricultural and public lands across the Front. The bill would not affect mineral leasing in Teton and Pondera counties, or energy production on private and state land.
In Montana, and elsewhere, Moose populations are shrinking, but no one knows exactly why . . .
Hunters spent more than 4,200 combined days in the field searching for moose across Montana in 2011, but the harvest total was the lowest in more than half a century.
Why?
The possible answers remain up for debate. But wildlife managers fear the situation could be bleak and worsening.
Shrinking moose populations have become the subject of escalating concern across the U.S…
The Geat Bear Foundation is putting together a documentary about the life and work of their founder, Dr. Charles Jonkel. Chuck Jonkel is a major figure in bear research and has been associated with the North Fork for over 30 years. Here’s the GBF announcement, which includes a link to the film preview on YouTube . . .
As many of you know, the Great Bear Foundation and Salish Kootenai College Media/KSKC Public TV have been hard at work on a film project documenting the life and work of GBF President and pioneer of bear biology, Chuck Jonkel.
Walking Bear Comes Home combines archival film footage of Jonkel’s historic polar bear research in the Canadian Arctic with interviews with Jonkel, his colleagues, friends, and family, to tell the story of one of the most interesting characters in wildlife conservation, and the co-founder and President of GBF.
Chuck Jonkel’s legacy in wildlife biology and conservation is varied and far-reaching. Just to list a few of his many accomplishments, Jonkel developed the first capture-and-handling procedures for polar bears and black bears, developed the first database on Canada’s polar bears and their habitat requirements, co-drafted and signed the International Agreement on Conservation of Polar Bears, directed the Border Grizzly Project, the most comprehensive field study on the habitat requirements of the grizzly bear in the Lower 48 States, co-founded the Great Bear Foundation and the International Wildlife Film Festival, along with many, many more achievements that have helped to protect wildlife and habitat in North America and beyond. Jonkel’s big heart, generous nature, and unique character may have made as big an impact as his research and advocacy work.
We’d like to thank all of you who have helped out with this project, whether you contributed money, photographs, film footage, stories, interviews, advice, or moral support. We’ve been overwhelmed by your generosity and support! We will continue to keep you posted on the progress of this project.
We screened a preview of this film-in-progress for the first time publicly on February 2, 2013 at the FLIC Cinemafest in Polson, Montana.
You can watch the latest preview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeYPSEuQbss
For more information, or to donate to the project, please visit our website: http://greatbear.org/projects/#docfilm
This project is sponsored by the Great Bear Foundation, Salish Kootenai College Media, The Cinnabar Foundation, Humanities Montana, and numerous private donations.
If you happen to be up that way, our neighbors to the north are doing a special event on the Canadian Flathead Valley. Here’s the announcement . . .
Join us at the Royal BC Museum for this special event
It’s called a BioBlitz!
On February 28, please join Sierra Club BC and the Royal BC Museum for an evening of stories, science and imagery about B.C.’s Flathead River Valley. RSVP for your free ticket!
In August 2012, Royal BC Museum staff and volunteers joined forces with other scientists in a 7-day BioBlitz to survey and record as many species as possible in the Flathead River Valley. For one intensive week, they documented the valley’s birds, insects, fish, plants, mammals, salamanders, spiders, frogs, slugs, snails, and other surprises!
When: February 28, 2013
Where: Royal BC Museum – Newcombe Conference Hall, 675 Belleville St., Victoria
Free admission, but please RSVP through Eventbrite for a ticket
Join us and begin to appreciate the richness of the Flathead River Valley – a natural treasure in our own backyard.
A couple of articles have surfaced over the last few days discussing wolves killing moose. You’d think wolves would choose an easier target, but apparently not. Here are the two write-ups . . .
Moose study begins in Northwest Montana
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has begun a moose study in three areas across the state, with one area focused near Libby.
The agency is conducting the study in light of decreasing moose populations and declining hunter opportunity, according to a news release from Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Last week, 12 cow moose were darted, captured and fitted with radio collars in the East Cabinet study area south of Libby.
Research shows Grand Teton wolves have taste for moose
Research shows wolves in the northern part of Grand Teton National Park have an appetite for moose during the wintertime.
Park and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researchers documented some 55 moose killed by wolves over the past three winters.