Tag Archives: Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks

Motorists hauling watercraft must stop at AIS inspection stations

Environmental Issues, News,

Montana really doesn’t want folks importing aquatic invasive species. From the official press release . . .

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials reminded private and commercial boaters yesterday that state law requires all motorists hauling watercraft—from trailers with motorboats or inflatable rafts to canoes and kayaks perched atop cars and pick-up trucks—to stop at inspection stations.

The annual education and enforcement effort, which this year includes multiple chances to win prizes from an array of local sponsors, is to further curb the risk of aquatic invasive species from attaining a foothold in Montana waters.

Seventeen well-marked inspection stations will again be in operation beginning Thursday, May 21 through September at key border crossings, along major highways, and on heavily used water bodies. Motorists who stop will have their equipment checked—and cleaned if needed—and get information on how to enter a raffle for prizes to be awarded throughout the boating season.

Montana law requires private motorists and outfitters and guides hauling watercraft—including motorboats, sailboats, kayaks, canoes, rowboats, rafts, jet skis and even small kick boats popular among some anglers—to always stop at AIS watercraft inspection stations for a brief interview and equipment check. Most inspections take fewer than five minutes but failure to stop could lead to a $135 fine.

Last year, nearly 35,000 watercraft were inspected at Montana’s roadside stations. A total of 54 motorboats and three non-motorized watercrafts were found to have been fouled by zebra mussels and other AIS contaminants and hundreds more contained standing water or noninvasive vegetation.

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Montana looking at tighter trapping restrictions near Glacier and Yellowstone

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Montana FWP wants to tighten trapping rules near national parks to protect Canada Lynx . . .

Montana wildlife officials are considering stricter regulations in an effort to reduce the chances of Canada lynx being caught in traps set for other animals outside Glacier and Yellowstone national parks.

The plan presented to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission on Thursday is part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed in 2013 by three environmental groups over trapping in the threatened species’ habitat.

Several of the settlement’s statewide restrictions are already in place, but additional changes are needed in special zones near Yellowstone National Park and a wider area outside Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks attorney Aimee Fausser said.

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Montana wishes to cut bobcat quotas

Environmental Issues, News,

Montana FWP wants to cut back on the Bobcat take . . .

Montana wildlife officials are considering cutting bobcat quotas across a broad swath of central and northern Montana.

John Vore of Fish, Wildlife and Parks says agency officials have seen a drop in bobcat numbers in those areas. He attributes the decline to a cyclical population shift, but says the agency doesn’t want to exacerbate the drop through hunting and trapping.

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Two hefty grizzlies caught near Big Fork and relocated

Environmental Issues, News,

Bears are definitely on the move and looking for munchies, as witnessed by events near Big Fork earlier this month . . .

Officials with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks caught and relocated two large grizzlies near Bigfork earlier this month during a trapping effort to capture a calf-killing bear that remains at large.

On April 2, a landowner reported that a newborn calf had been killed on his property near Mud Lake, while a second calf was missing. There were large grizzly tracks at the site, and investigators determined a large grizzly killed and consumed the missing calf.

The investigation showed that the bears trapped by FWP officials were not involved in the April 2 incident involving the deaths of the two calves, but FWP Grizzly Bear Specialist Tim Manely radio-collared and relocated the bears and continued trying to capture the target bear.

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New Region 1 wildlife manager announced

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Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Region 1 has a new wildlife manager . . .

A biologist who once specialized in grizzly bear diet, Neil Anderson recently took over as the new Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 wildlife manager.

Anderson officially began his new job at the Kalispell office on Feb. 9. His predecessor, Jim Williams, is now the regional director.

“I’ve worked with almost all the biologists here in one fashion or another,” Anderson said about his new position. “We’re not enforcing the laws, but we do work with game wardens a lot of the time to develop harvest strategies and season-setting. We have to make sure what we create is enforceable.”

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Bull trout stable in Northwest Montana

Environmental Issues, News, ,

This is a more extensive report on the bull trout population than the one posted earlier . . .

The bull trout population remains stable in Northwest Montana, according to state biologists who completed their annual inventory of spawning sites.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently released the results of its annual survey of the Clark Fork, Flathead and Kootenai drainages, and the data shows that the bull trout population has not experienced any significant changes, Regional Fisheries Manager Mark Deleray said.

“In FWP Region One waters, bull trout redd numbers appear stable in all basins, being very similar to 10-year averages,” Deleray said. “In each basin, this year’s count may be slightly higher or lower than last year’s, but not significantly different than recent years.”

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No surprises in 2014 bull trout redd counts for Northwest Montana

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The Region 1 bull trout redd counts are in . . .

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) Fisheries Field crews have completed the annual inventory of bull trout spawning sites in the Clark Fork, Flathead, and Kootenai drainages, which comprise northwest Montana’s FWP Region One. Experienced observers walk known spawning areas and count the number of spawning nests called redds. Female bull trout excavate a depression in the streambed where she deposits her eggs which are immediately fertilized by a male. These nests, called redds, are typically four to six feet long by three feet wide, or even larger and are easily identified when walking down the stream channel. Redd counts are indicative of the abundance levels of spawning adult bull trout each year. Redd counts are used to assess status and trends in bull trout populations in northwest Montana.

According to Region One Fisheries Program Manager Mark Deleray, there are no surprises in the 2014 bull trout redd counts for the Clark Fork, Flathead, and Kootenai drainages in Northwestern Montana.

“In FWP Region One waters, bull trout redd numbers appear stable in all basins, being very similar to 10-year averages,” says Deleray. “In each basin, this year’s count may be slightly higher or lower than last year’s, but not significantly different than recent years.” Deleray adds that his staff and cooperators put in a significant amount of field time to collect these data every year. Avista and the Bonneville Power Administration provide funding assistance…

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Longtime Montana FWP filmmaker has dream job

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For 37 years, Mike Gurnett has been paid to do something lots of folks would do for free . . .

The question longtime Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks filmmaker Mike Gurnett gets asked perhaps most frequently is: “Wait, you get paid to do this?”

“It reminds me that this is a good gig I’ve got going,” Gurnett said. “I figure that every month I take the trip of a year for somebody.”

In his 37 years making documentary films and short videos for FWP, Gurnett has spanned the state, filming in some of the most beautiful locations Montana has to offer. One week he may be filming biologists collaring grizzly bears. The next, it could be elk rutting in the Missouri River Breaks or sage grouse dancing on the prairie.

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Cutthroat conservation project has three lakes left

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Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ South Fork Flathead Cutthroat Conservation Project is just about wrapped up. They’ve got three lakes left in their effort to restore a genetically pure westslope cutthroat trout population to the South Fork Flathead River drainage.

From the official press release . . .

Project status: The South Fork Flathead Cutthroat Conservation Project has been systematically removing non-native fish and replacing them with pure westslope cutthroat. The goal has been to maintain the world class genetically pure westslope cutthroat fishery in the South Fork Flathead River Drainage. FWP Project Biologist Matt Boyer reports that 12 mountain lakes have been successfully chemically treated and an additional 6 lakes are being genetically swamped and may not require chemical treatment. Only three lakes remain on the original list of 21 encompassed by the project in the South Fork Flathead Drainage.

This year’s activities and limit waiver: This year, Koessler Lake is scheduled for rotenone treatment in September. Koessler is an 86 acre lake located at the head of the Gordon Creek drainage within the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. The lake was historically stocked with nonnative Yellowstone cutthroat trout and presently contains westslope cutthroat/Yellowstone cutthroat trout hybrids. Koessler is a remote backcountry angling destination. In past years, anglers have asked for limit waivers to allow more harvest of fish prior to treatment. The current bag limit is 3 trout per day. The proposal to lift the fishing bag limit on Koessler Lake will be submitted to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission. The FWP Commission will evaluate public comments and consider final approval of this proposal at their July meeting. It would go into effect immediately upon approval. Please contact your local Fish and Wildlife Commissioner if you have comments; address comments to: fwpcomm@mt.gov.

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Montana FWP considering new way to model wolf population

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Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is considering a new statistical model for estimating the state’s wolf population . . .

Researchers from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the University of Montana estimate the state’s wolf population at more than 800 using a new statistical technique.

Researchers conducted a study of the new technique from 2007 to 2012. The new method, called patch occupancy modeling, uses deer and elk hunter observations coupled with information from radio-collared wolves. The statistical approach is a less expensive alternative to the old method of minimum wolf counts, which were performed by biologists and wildlife technicians. The results of the study estimate that for the five-year period, wolf populations were 25-35 percent higher than the minimum counts for each year.

“The study’s primary objective was to find a less-expensive approach to wolf monitoring that would yield statistically reliable estimates of the number of wolves and packs in Montana,” said Justin Gude, FWP’s chief of research for the wildlife division in Helena.

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