Category Archives: News

Grizzly bears to remain protected under Endangered Species Act

Environmental Issues, News

Grizzly bears, gaping mawsAn excellent article by the inimitable Ron Chaney on the update to Endangered Species Act protection for grizzly bears . . .

All grizzly bears in the Lower 48 United States would be federally managed as a single population under a proposed U.S Fish and Wildlife Service rule released on Wednesday.

That DPS, or distinct population segment, would retain the grizzly’s threatened status under the Endangered Species Act and reject petitions from the states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming to delist the bears. In its Wednesday announcement, FWS said it found the states’ petitions “not warranted” for the two largest concentrations of grizzlies surrounding Yellowstone National Park and Montana’s Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem.

“After a thorough review of the best scientific and commercial data available, the Service found grizzly bear populations in those two ecosystems do not, on their own, represent valid DPSs (distinct population segments),” the FWS announcement stated.

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Feds reject petitions to delist grizzlies, recommend recovery goal revisions

Environmental Issues, News
A pair of grizzly bears forage in Glacier National Park - Chris Servheen
A pair of grizzly bears forage in Glacier National Park – Chris Servheen

This sounds like a really good idea. If they can make it stick . . .

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on Wednesday rejected petitions by state governments in Montana and Wyoming to delist grizzly bears in their respective recovery zones, moving instead to establish a single distinct population segment encompassing grizzly habitat in both states, as well as in Idaho and Washington.

“This reclassification will facilitate recovery of grizzly bears and provide a stronger foundation for eventual delisting,” FWS Director Martha Williams said in a prepared statement. “And the proposed changes to our … rule will provide management agencies and landowners more tools and flexibility to deal with human/bear conflicts, an essential part of grizzly bear recovery.”

The agency announced it is publishing an independently peer-reviewed updated species status assessment that compiles the best available scientific information, which helps to inform decision-making.

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Forest reopens public engagement on long-awaited Flathead River Management Plan

Environmental Issues, News, ,
Flathead River in Flathead National Forest
Flathead River in Flathead National Forest

Absolutely excellent write-up by the Flathead Beacon on the rebooted and long-awaited process of developing the Comprehensive River Management Plan . . .

Resource managers tasked with managing the Flathead River’s three forks under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act announced Monday they’re rebooting a public-engagement process despite falling short of a goal to have completed the draft plan and environmental assessment months ago.

The Flathead National Forest published its “proposed action” document for public review on the agency’s project website while project leaders laid plans to host a pair of open houses on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts and Technology Building. The public comment period will be open for 30 days, concluding on Feb. 7. Comments may be submitted electronically here.

The “proposed action” document is different than the draft river management plan, which was due out last fall but is still being developed. The document released Monday will be modified throughout the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis process, according to Kira Powell, public affairs officer for the Flathead National Forest. Another round of public input will also be considered during the environmental analysis (EA), which Powell identified as the most likely level of analysis under NEPA.

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Another proposed Comprehensive River Management Plan expected in January

Environmental Issues, News
North Fork Flathead River at Ford Landing, May 16, 2018 - by William K. Walker
North Fork Flathead River at Ford Landing, May 16, 2018 – by William K. Walker

OK, let’s try this again . . .

A second attempt at a proposed action for the long awaited Comprehensive Management Plan is expected to be released in early January Flathead National Forest spokeswoman Kira Powell confirmed last week.

The plan is a blueprint for the management of the 219 miles of Wild and Scenic waterways of the North, Middle and South forks of the Flathead. The plan is being crafted by the Flathead National Forest in cooperation with the National Park Service.

The North and Middle Forks make up a large portion of the boundary of Glacier National Park. An initial proposed action and public scoping was released in 2019, but it never became a final plan. Since then the plan has progressed in fits and starts, marked by delays, which included a pandemic and an historic surge in summer river usage.

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Montana Supreme Court upholds Held v. Montana climate case ruling

Environmental Issues, News
Roger Sullivan questions witnesses at the Held v. State of Montana trial in June 2023. Photo via Roger Sullivan.

Well, now, here’s some upbeat holiday season news! . . .

The Montana Supreme Court has upheld a district court ruling in Held v. Montana, affirming the young plaintiffs have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.”

In a 6 to 1 ruling, Montana’s high court ruled the public’s right to a clean and healthful environment under Montana’s constitution was violated when the state legislature passed a law removing the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from environmental reviews under the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). Chief Justice Mike McGrath authored the opinion.

“Plaintiffs have standing to challenge the injury to their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment,” wrote McGrath. “Montanans’ right to a clean and healthful environment was violated by the MEPA Limitation, which precluded an analysis of [greenhouse gas] emissions in environmental assessments and environmental impact statements during MEPA review.”

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Bears translocated to Yellowstone ecosystem exploring new territory, map shows

Environmental Issues, News
Augmentation grizzly bear movements, 2024
Augmentation grizzly bear movements, 2024

This is pretty interesting. This past summer, Montana FWP translocated a couple of adult grizzlies from the Middle Fork Flathead to the Yellowstone area. Here’s what happened . . .

The lines on the map look like the doodling of a toddler. The pink line makes big loops that sometimes overlap. The green line is wound so tightly, it just looks like a big blob. Though they sometimes get close to each other, they seldom intersect.

The lines show the movements of the female grizzly bear (pink) and male grizzly bear (green) that were relocated from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) this past summer. Both ecosystems have populations of grizzly bears that have surpassed recovery goals. However, the translocation effort was designed to help increase the genetic diversity of the GYE population, which has been isolated from nearby populations for many years. It’s an effort that may be repeated in the future, depending on how close the two populations eventually grow.

“This just jump starts what very likely will also happen naturally,” said Ken McDonald, head of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Wildlife Division.

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Group petitions Fish and Wildlife Service to revise grizzly recovery plan based on new report

Environmental Issues, News,
Grizzly bear in early fall - Montana FWP
Grizzly bear in early fall – Montana FWP

Kudos to Randy Kenyon for spotting this one . . .

A petition has been submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by 15 environmental groups, urging a revision of the 1993 Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan based on a new report by former grizzly recovery manager Chris Servheen. The report argues against delisting grizzlies from the Endangered Species Act and suggests managing them as a single metapopulation in the Northern Rockies. Servheen highlights significant population growth since the species was listed in 1975, but notes ongoing threats, including human-caused deaths and habitat loss. The petition emphasizes the need for stronger regulations and education to promote coexistence between humans and grizzlies. It critiques current state policies that may harm grizzly populations and calls for a collaborative recovery framework involving Tribal, State, and Federal agencies. The report stresses that successful recovery requires connectivity between isolated populations to enhance genetic diversity and resilience against climate change. The petition aims to influence decisions on grizzly protections expected by the end of January.

Read full article at the Daily Montanan . . .

See also this article in the Flathead Beacon . . .

Human-bear conflicts kept local grizzly specialists busy this year

Environmental Issues, News, , ,
Grizzly bear near Trail Creek in North Fork Flathead region, Montana. April 11, 2017 - by Diane Boyd
Grizzly bear near Trail Creek in North Fork Flathead region, Montana. April 11, 2017 – by Diane Boyd

Local grizzly specialist Justine Vallieres is featured in this excellent article on human-bear conflict management efforts this year. A couple of North Forkers and the Bear Smart program get a mention, too .  .  .

Even though grizzly specialist Justine Vallieres responded to fewer human-bear conflict calls in northwest Montana this year compared to last, she filled what little downtime that afforded her by ramping up her education and outreach curriculum.

“We’re pushing preventative measures and trying to set as few traps as possible,” Vallieres, a wildlife conflict management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), told members of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC), who gathered for their annual winter meeting on Dec. 3 and 4 in Choteau. “I can set trap after trap after trap, but if the unsecured attractants are still there, the problem will keep recurring.”

For Vallieres, pushing preventative measues meant installing more electric fences, observing that residents seem more willing to entertain the idea of non-lethal conflict prevention as a means to secure their livestock and grain. She also delivered 18 talks and attended six educational events, all the while keeping up with a steady stream of conflict calls related to grizzly and black bears.

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Feds adopt lynx recovery plan

Environmental Issues, News
Canada lynx sitting - USFWS
Canada lynx sitting – USFWS

Just in time for Thanksgiving . . .

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week released a final recovery plan for Canada lynx, a threatened, snow-adapted species partial to northern forests.

Recovery plans are sometimes called “roadmaps to recovery.” Federal wildlife managers use them to outline risks to a threatened or endangered species’ survival and identify objective criteria for measuring recovery efforts.

Threats to Canada lynx that USFWS identified in its recovery plan include a reduction of habitat in the western U.S. that’s capable of sustaining populations of resident lynx and a warming climate that’s reducing the wintertime conditions lynx rely on to hunt snowshoe hare, a rabbit that accounts for most of the lynx’s winter diet.

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New Montana wolf trapping regulations up for consideration

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

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission is looking at a number of adjustments to trapping regulations, including some that would affect wolves . . .

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on Nov. 12 is set to consider a crowded agenda of proposed fishing and hunting regulations for the upcoming year, including approving a shortened wolf-trapping season and enacting rules surrounding the trapping of predators like coyotes, which are designed to avoid incidental captures of grizzly bears.

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