Expanded wolf hunt flies through Montana legislature

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The headline pretty much says it all . . .

A proposal to expand the state’s wolf hunt is being fast-tracked through the Legislature and shortly will be sent to the governor’s desk for his signature.

The Montana Senate on Thursday suspended its rules so it could take initial and final votes on the same day on the measure that already had overwhelmingly cleared the House. The Senate backed it 45-4.

House Bill 73 lets the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks increase the number of wolves one hunter can take, allows for electronic calls, and removes a requirement to wear hunter orange outside general deer and elk season.

The measure also prohibits the state wildlife agency from banning wolf hunts in areas around national parks. Its swift passage would allow the changes to take effect during the hunting season that’s currently under way.

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USDA report says warming to bring more changes to national forests

Environmental Issues, News, ,

At first glance, this appears to be a fairly routine write-up about a recently released USDA report on the forecast impact of climate change on forest lands. However, it appears there is disagreement in some quarters with a number of details . . .

Big changes are in store for the nation’s forests as global warming increases wildfires and insect infestations, and generates more frequent floods and droughts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture warns in a report released Tuesday.

The compilation of more than 1,000 scientific studies is part of the National Climate Assessment and will serve as a roadmap for managing national forests across the country in coming years.

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Groups want action on Forest Jobs and Recreation Act

Commentary, Environmental Issues,

According to an editorial in today’s Flathead Beacon, a bunch of the groups behind the development of the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act are getting cranky about its slow passage through the halls of Congress . . .

Yet another year of gridlock has passed. It’s time for our lawmakers to finally come together and pass the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act (FJRA). If implemented, here’s what will happen locally on the Kootenai National Forest (KNF)…

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It’s official: Feds want wolverines on Endangered Species List

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

As expected, the federal government will propose giving wolverines Endangered Species Act protection today. The recommendation includes a proposal to reintroduce wolverines into Colorado and, of course, would permanently ban trapping and hunting of wolverines in the lower 48 states . . .

The tenacious wolverine, a snow-loving carnivore sometimes called the “mountain devil,” is being added to the list of species threatened by climate change — a dubious distinction that puts it in the ranks of the polar bear and several other animals that could see their habitats shrink drastically due to warming temperatures.

Federal wildlife officials on Friday will propose Endangered Species Act protections for the wolverine in the lower 48 states, a step twice denied under the Bush administration.

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Montana FWP gives in, will allow wolf hunting near Yellowstone this season

Environmental Issues, News, ,

After evaluating their legal options, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioners threw up their hands and decided to let the wolf hunt continue in areas close to Yellowstone National Park through the end of this year’s hunting season . . .

Montana wildlife officials said Monday that they were abandoning their efforts to shut down gray wolf hunting and trapping just outside the gates of Yellowstone National Park, citing a recent court ruling that threatened to drag out the issue until the season was almost over.

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First confirmed case of grizzly on Missoula’s urban fringe

Environmental Issues, News, ,

This is pretty interesting. A radio collared grizzly bear got close to Missoula, didn’t like what she saw, and backed off. They are already getting reestablished on the high plains east of the Divide, so it makes sense grizzles would start showing up in other regions . . .

A grizzly bear has ambled across the southern border of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and onto Missoula’s urban fringe.

“It looks like she did it within a few days – looked out of the trees above Grant Creek, heard all the noise and saw all the stuff and didn’t come down,” said Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Missoula. “That’s good. But there will be others.”

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“Polebridge Class” draws press coverage

News, Travel Articles, ,

The Daily Inter Lake covered the anual University of Montana “Polebridge Class” with two articles, one of them splashed all over last Sunday’s front page. The lead article talked about the class and how Polebridge “stirred to life” to support it. The second talked about “the mail lady” (and her wolf, of course).

Here are the links . . .

Polebridge stirs to life to host college course

‘Mail lady’ and her wolf are popular in North Fork

Montana FWP opposed to increased wolverine protections

Environmental Issues, News,

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is not happy with the prospect of federal regulation of Wolverines . . .

Montana wildlife officials have given up on a wolverine trapping season this winter, but said Tuesday they want the state excluded from pending federal protections for the elusive predators so trapping can be revived.

Federal officials are poised to announce by next Friday whether wolverines should get Endangered Species Act protections across the western U.S…

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Feds plan to protect wolverines as threatened species

Environmental Issues, News,

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just put paid to the Wolverine trapping debate in Montana by announcing that they plan to list the animal as threatened . . .

Montana’s wolverine trapping season effectively ended on Monday after reports that federal officials plan to put the rare predator on the endangered species list.

After putting the trapping season in limbo Nov. 30, a state district judge canceled a planned Jan. 10 hearing on the matter when U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said they plan to issue a proposed rule giving wolverines “threatened” status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act on Jan. 18.

Although the federal decision must still go through several months of public comment and review, District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock ruled it made little sense to debate a trapping season that was soon to become moot.

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Annual grizzly deaths remain steady

Environmental Issues, News,

Despite increased potential for conflict, grizzly bears deaths remain steady . . .

With improved habitat security on federal lands and continued public education, the number of grizzly bear mortalities in the Northern Rockies was relatively low at 18 in 2012…

“Our mortalities are remaining pretty steady,” said Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “I think it’s the ongoing efforts of the bear managers, both the tribal and state guys, dealing with a lot of conflicts and working with a lot of new land owners.”

The work of state bear management specialists such as Tim Manley, who covers the Flathead area, has been significant because of the encroachment of homes into bear habitat and a growing bear population that continues to use those areas.

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