Tag Archives: bear management

Grizzly activity spikes in Northwest Montana

September 19, 2015Environmental Issues, Newsbear attractants, bear management, grizzly bears, hyperphagia, nuisance bearsnfpa

It’s that time of year again when bears are packing in the calories in preparation of hibernation . . .

Wildlife managers are reporting an increase in grizzly bear activity and conflicts across Northwest Montana as the winter denning season approaches.

Between 20 and 30 grizzlies were involved in conflicts throughout the region in recent weeks, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Northwest Montana has the largest population of grizzlies in the continental U.S. with over 1,000.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson John Fraley said activity tends to pick up in autumn as both black and grizzly bears search for larger amounts of food in order to survive the winter in their dens. Female grizzly bears with young are especially in need of additional food as they nurse their cubs and need the extra calories.

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Also read: Food-Conditioned Black Bear Removed From the Population To Ensure Public Safety (Glacier National Park)

Biologists look for ways to preserve grizzlies after delisting

July 13, 2014Environmental Issues, Newsbear management, grizzly bear researchnfpa

Once the feds remove the grizzly bear from the endangered species list, what happens then? . . .

The grizzly bear answers to a lot of names.

Biologists call it Ursus arctos. They also describe it as an “ecological engineer” or “keystone predator.”

Wordy members of the general public call grizzlies “charismatic megafauna.” Others call them “vermin.” While running for president in 2008, Arizona Sen. John McCain famously derided studying grizzlies as a classic example of “Washington, D.C., pork.”

McCain later apologized for misunderstanding the value of Montana grizzly bear researcher Kate Kendall’s DNA hair analysis…

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For bears, ‘chickens are the new garbage’

April 24, 2014Environmental Issues, Newsbear attractants, bear management, chickens, grizzly bears, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicenfpa

Bears like chickens, which is causing headaches for bear management personnel . . .

Wildlife and land managers say they are seeing gradual acceptance and improvements in public education and outreach for grizzly bear conservation, but there also are setbacks in some areas, most notably the proliferation of bear-attracting chicken coops across Western Montana.

“The hobby chicken farmer is one of the greatest threats to the grizzly bear these days,” Chris Servheen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator, said Wednesday in Hungry Horse.

Servheen was one of the speakers during a meeting of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem subcommittee, a multi-agency panel that guides bear conservation and management.

As state grizzly bear management specialist Jamie Jonkel puts it, “chickens are the new garbage.”

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It must be spring: several bears relocated

April 12, 2014Environmental Issues, Newsbear attractants, bear management, bear relocation, black bears, grizzly bearsnfpa

Another sure sign of spring in this corner of Montana: Wildlife personnel are busy relocating nuisance bears . . .

As bear activity picks up, wildlife personnel recently had to relocate a grizzly bear from south of Eureka into Glacier National Park.

According to Erik Wenum, a bear and lion specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, a 6-year-old 340-pound male grizzly bear was captured on April 6 south of Eureka after killing a calf earlier in the week. USDA Wildlife Services personnel assisted in capturing the grizzly…

Wenum says four black bears were captured in the last week in the Columbia Falls and Whitefish areas. This level of activity indicates that while many bears may still be denned or close to their dens some have dropped to lower elevations in search of foods, according to FWP.

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Annual grizzly deaths remain steady

January 6, 2013Environmental Issues, Newsbear management, grizzly bearsnfpa

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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Officials debate way forward on grizzly bear management

December 6, 2011Environmental Issues, Newsbear management, Endangered Species List, grizzly bearsnfpa

A good article by Rob Chaney posted recently to the Missoulian . . .

As the Rocky Mountain grizzly bear population grows, its managers have encountered something of a vision problem: They’re not sure what success looks like.

“We have a pretty good road map on how to recover grizzly bears – reduce mortality and provide them a place to live, and bears will slowly increase,” Idaho Game and Fish Director Jim Unsworth told his colleagues at the Interagency Grizzly Bear Commission last week in Missoula. “I’d like to see us move more into proven areas instead of hanging out in the past.”

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