Use of electricity as bear repellent gets more effective

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

I kind of like the bit about the electrified mats . . .

The video makes dramatic evidence: A big sow grizzly and her cub approach a freezer in a Flathead County garage. The night before, they’d scored a load of frozen fish. They were back for more.

But this time, the sow steps on an electrified cattle mat placed in front of the freezer. She gives a startled “Woof!” and wheels away.

“I love the look on the cub’s face,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 bear manager Tim Manley.

The little bear gapes at mom for a second and seems to say ‘Yikes, wait for me!’ The family group was soon trapped and relocated, and hasn’t been in trouble since.

The use of electricity as a bear repellent has reached a level of effectiveness and creativity far beyond what was first deployed about 20 years ago . . .

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Larry Wilson: Remembering Katie and Ivan

Commentary, News, ,

Larry speaks of the passing of Katie Wilson and Ivan Winsheimer . . .

Over the years, I have had a great deal of fun writing this column. Each week, it’s almost like writing a letter to friends, telling them about life on the North Fork. Most of all I enjoy researching stories about the homesteaders who settled the North Fork, and once in a while even about pre-homestead days.

I intended to write this week about another early day Glacier National Park ranger, Frank Liebig, who like Norton Pearl had many worth-telling adventures. Unlike Joe Cosley, they were a credit to the National Park Service and to the community.

Unfortunately, that story has to be postponed to write one of my least enjoyable columns. That is, of course the passing of not one, but two, people who have been important to me and many others on the North Fork.

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Glacier Park hopes to measure fisher population — if any

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Glacier Park thinks they might have a few fishers living within their boundaries. Now, they are going to try to find out for sure . . .

Every year, Glacier National Park biologist John Waller gets about a half-dozen reports from people who claim to have seen a fisher in the Park.

But the reports don’t come with photos. A few years ago Waller tried setting up some “hair traps” in the Park in hopes of snaring some fisher hair in wire brushes, but to no avail.

Now the Park will give it one last go. Through a $20,000 grant from the Glacier National Park Fund, a Park-wide fisher survey using bait stations and camera traps will try to, once and for all, see if there are truly any fishers in Glacier Park.

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Grizzly bears emerging from hibernation on Rocky Mountain Front

Environmental Issues, News,

More evidence grizzly bears are getting an early start this year . . .

State wildlife officials say grizzly bears are coming out of hibernation a bit earlier than usual and have been spotted along the Rocky Mountain Front.

Just before the recent snow storm, a Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden a female grizzly with three yearling cubs on the Blackleaf Wildlife Management Area west of Choteau. Another grizzly female with a couple of cubs that are probably two years old was reported west of Dupuyer.

FWP bear management specialist Mike Madel says it’s unusual for family groups to be out in mid-March.

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Conservationists seek addition to Waterton-Glacier Park

Environmental Issues, News, ,

More on the meeting earlier this week in Whitefish . . .

Conservationists are urging government leaders to add a 100,000-acre piece of Canadian wilderness to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Leading ecologists meeting in Whitefish earlier this week said extending the park’s boundaries will connect wildlife corridors and help preserve one of the most intact ecosystems in North America.

“The idea is to fill in that missing piece of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and create a wildlife corridor that would extend from Whitefish to Banff,” Michael Proctor, the lead researcher for the Trans-border Grizzly Bear Project said.

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Off-trail travel prohibited in Glacier Park for wildlife protection until May 15th

Environmental Issues, News,

Rules to protect critical winter range remain in effect in Glacier Park through May 15 . . .

Glacier National Park officials are reminding visitors that off-trail travel through critical winter range areas is prohibited through May 15 in an effort to protect wildlife. Travel is limited to designated trails throughout specific areas in the North Fork, Lake McDonald and St. Mary districts of the park.

This restriction is intended to protect wintering ungulates such as deer, elk, moose and sheep from disturbance. Limiting human-use to designated trails will help protect the animals during the critical winter and spring months, a release from the park said.

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Weekend wrapup: Lake trout, wolverines and roadless area squabbles

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Here are a few nuggets kicked up over the past few days . . .

Proposal to release roadless, wilderness study areas gains backers, opponents

A proposed bill to release federal roadless and wilderness study areas to local management and development is gathering lengthy lists of supporters and opponents, even though it’s stalled in Congress . . .

Flathead Lake biological station examines netting, cascading effects

How would Flathead Lake’s complex food web and ecology change if an aggressive netting project started removing 140,000 lake trout every year?

That is considered an important question that has yet to be answered, but it is a subject being addressed in a study being conducted for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as part of an environmental review for a proposed lake trout netting project on the lake . . .

Wolverine spotted at Whitefish ski resort

A handful of skiers had the rare opportunity to see a wolverine Monday on the front side of Big Mountain.

The sightings later were confirmed by tracks and scat found around a deer carcass . . .

 

Larry Wilson: Around the Park on snowshoes

Commentary, History, ,

This week, Larry passes along a story about Norton Pearl, one of the early Glacier Park rangers . . .

During the winter of 1913, Park ranger Norton Pearl completely circled Glacier National Park on snowshoes. His story, used here with permission from his daughter, Dorothy, tells a lot about the early day rangers.

They were not only a tough group of men, but they obviously loved the area as much as any of us do today. In most cases, their word was their bond and was valued by all who knew them. Following is a portion of Pearl’s account:

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