An AP article posted to today’s Flathead Beacon surveys the various, competing proposals to remove wolves from the Endangered Species List. Must be an election coming up . . .
Two decades after the federal government spent a half-million dollars to study the reintroduction of gray wolves to the Northern Rockies, lawmakers say it’s time for Congress to step in again — this time to clamp down on the endangered animals.
From today’s Flathead Beacon, here’s some more information on the attempt to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List. This write-up includes links to useful external material . . .
Just days after Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg announced that he had drafted legislation that would remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List, Montana’s Democratic Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester said they were introducing a similar bill.
Montana’s congresscritters are really jumping on the wolf issue.
A late post to today’s Missoulian . . .
Montana and Idaho could win back state management of gray wolves through legislation offered by senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester late Tuesday.
The state’s two Democratic senators introduced their bill in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg drafted a bill removing wolves from Endangered Species Act protection on Sept. 15, but has not introduced it yet.
From today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .
Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., announced Monday that he will host three hearings — including one in Kalispell on Oct. 6 — on the impacts of relisting gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act.
Rehberg is interested in a legislative solution…
The Oct. 6 meeting in Kalispell will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts and Technology building…
This will get everyone stirred up. From today’s Flathead Beacon . . .
Montana wildlife officials say they have applied for a special “conservation hunt” for endangered gray wolves . . .
State officials earlier this month asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for an expedited decision on their application so hunting could take place this fall. The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from wildlife advocates who accuse the state of making an end-run around the courts . . .
Oh, boy. This item posted to today’s Flathead Beacon is going to trigger some debate and, one hopes, further investigation . . .
Swaths of forests killed by mountain pine beetles may not be as prone to massive fires as many previously assumed, a conclusion drawn by researchers from the University of Wisconsin and Yellowstone National Park.
The Flathead Beacon has a nice overview of all the late-season bear activity — not to mention a handy one-sentence definition of “hyperphagia” . . .
As the weather begins to cool for fall’s arrival, Flathead Valley residents may notice a heightened amount of bear activity in the lower basins as the animals continue packing away calories before hibernation.
For those of you not wishing to wade through multi-megabytes of material, today’s Daily Inter Lake has a good summary of the findings of the recently completed North Fork Flathead Road Corridor Study . . .
Only additional grading and stabilization treatments for the North Fork Road have broad public support, according to a recently completed study of the road corridor.
The North Fork Flathead Road Corridor Study does not recommend a specific project for the road, but instead focuses on improvement options.
The final North Fork Flathead Road Corridor Study document is now available for download from the study’s web page. The study document does not include the three associated appendices, which can also be downloaded from the same place. For those of you who don’t wish to wade through the full 66-page document, the study group’s September newsletter contains a good summary of the findings and conclusions.
Here’s the ultra-condensed version: The corridor study was a $125K Montana Department of Transportation project looking at alternatives for improving the condition of the North Fork Road from Blankenship Road to Camas Junction. The final conclusion recommends improved road maintenance and some sort of dust abatement (several options are listed). Paving was not recommended.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens have captured five “problem” bears in seven days throughout Flathead County. Three of them, a good-sized sow and two cubs, were relocated to the North Fork, another had to be put down and one was dropped off east of the Swan Range. This year’s poor berry crop has sent an unusually large number of bears down-valley into settled areas as they try to fatten up prior to hibernation.
The Daily Inter Lake has a good write-up on the situation; the Missoulian also has coverage. The Flathead Beacon has the actual FWP report, along with a pretty cool photo.