Tag Archives: Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem

Flathead National Forest hosts the spring NCDE grizzly bear management meeting

April 24, 2015Environmental Issues, Newsgrizzly bear research, grizzly bears, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystemnfpa

Another darn reason to run to town. From the official Forest Service press release . . .

The public is invited to participate in the upcoming spring Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) grizzly bear management meeting hosted by Flathead National Forest. The meeting is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on May 6, 2015 at the Hungry Horse/Glacier View and Spotted Bear Ranger District Office located at 10 Hungry Horse Drive in Hungry Horse, Montana.

During the meeting there will be updates from NCDE members on the Draft NCDE Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy, work plans for the coming year, educational tools, bear mortality rates for 2014 and bear management spring activity.

The Flathead National Forest is one of many agencies and organizations working to ensure the sustainability of the grizzly bear population in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Additional information on those efforts can be found at: http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/continentalindex.html

For more information contact the NCDE Chair, Deb Mucklow at 406/387-3800.

Forest Service to hold public meetings in early December

November 21, 2014Newsgrizzly bears, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, vegetation modelingnfpa

A couple of public Forest Service events are coming up the first week in December.

The fall Northern Continental Divide Grizzly Bear Ecosystem (NCDE) Meeting is planned for Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014. The focus of this annual meeting is to share available information from within the NCDE. The meeting is in Missoula. Read the official press release for details.

On December 3 and 4, the Flathead National Forest is hosting two open house sessions in December on the topic of Vegetation Modeling Efforts for Forest Planning. These sessions are a follow-up to the two sessions that occurred last August. The first meeting is at the forest supervisor’s office in Kalispell, the second is at at the Swan Ecosystem Center in Condon. Again, the press release has the details.

Northwest Montana grizzlies could be delisted by late 2016

April 30, 2014Environmental Issues, Newschickens, Endangered Species List, grizzly bears, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystemnfpa

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is still projecting the delisting of grizzly bears in this corner of Montana within the next couple of years . . .

Wildlife managers could propose the delisting of the major grizzly bear population in Northwest Montana by late 2016.

A collective of federal, state and tribal officials gathered in Hungry Horse last week for the spring meeting of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem subcommittee. The group discussed updates on local grizzly conservation and management issues, including the ongoing problem of bear attractants like chicken coops.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing nearly 3,000 public comments on a post delisting management strategy for grizzly bears in the NCDE that was proposed a year ago. Chris Servheen, FWS grizzly bear recovery coordinator, said the plan would incorporate the comments and be completed in the coming months. After that, a threat analysis will be conducted to identify several characteristics of the NCDE, including the bear population’s status and the status of its habitat and regulatory mechanisms that would be in place to protect grizzlies if they were delisted. This analysis is expected to start in 2015, according to federal officials.

Read more . . .

Flathead National Forest hosts NCDE spring meeting

April 18, 2014Environmental Issues, Newsconservation, Flathead National Forest, grizzly bears, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystemnfpa

The Flathead National Forest is providing space for the spring Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem meeting. Here’s the press release . . .

Next Steps for Grizzly Bear Conservation & Bear Management Updates

The public is invited to participate in the upcoming Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) Spring Meeting hosted by the Flathead National Forest.

The meeting is scheduled from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM on April 23, 2014 at the Hungry Horse/Glacier View and Spotted Bear Ranger District Office located at 10 Hungry Horse Drive in Hungry Horse, Montana.

During the meeting there will be an update on the time line and next steps for the Conservation Strategy Plan, efforts to provide a new Grizzly Bear Lesson Plan for high schools, bear mortality rates for 2013 and bear management spring activity.

Click here for the NCDE Spring Meeting agenda.

More than just good data needed to delist Yellowstone grizzlies

December 16, 2013Environmental Issues, Newsbear recovery, Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Project, DNA study, greater Yellowstone ecosystem, grizzly bears, Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystemnfpa

Rob Chaney of the Missoulian posted a good summary of the state of the grizzly bear recovery effort.

Illegal kills biggest cause of grizzly bear deaths

December 11, 2013Environmental Issues, Newsbear mortality, grizzly bears, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystemnfpa

Chris Peterson of the Hungry Horse News checks in with a year-end grizzly bear status report . . .

This was a tough year to be a grizzly bear in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. The region saw 25 known grizzly bear deaths by humans, and the No. 1 cause of death was illegal kills.

All told, nine grizzly bears were killed illegally in 2013. Bear managers killed eight problem bears, two were killed by cars, two were killed by trains, one was killed in self defense, and the cause of death for two is unknown.

One bear was moved to the Cabinet Mountains as part of an augmentation program designed to boost bear numbers there. Because it was removed from the NCDE, it’s listed as a mortality, said Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Read more . . .

Grizzly bear population and recovery

August 7, 2013Environmental Issues, Newsgrizzly bears, Montana Fish, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, North Fork Preservation Association, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, Rick Macenfpa

Well, now, the NFPA got some ink. The Flathead Beacon’s Tristan Scott did a good write-up on Rick Mace’s presentation at the July 27 NFPA annual meeting concerning grizzly bear research and management over the past several decades. John Frederick even gets a quote . . .

Biologists who have spent years counting grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem say the species is on the road to recovery. With the public comment period on a post-delisting bear management strategy having drawn to a close Aug. 1, Endangered Species Act protections could be removed as early as next year.

At the North Fork Preservation Association’s annual meeting last month, attendees heard a presentation from Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Rick Mace. The presentation gave a 30-year history of grizzly bear conservation in western Montana.

Mace traced the history of research and management from the 1970s to the present, and talked about the science of counting bears and population trends of bears in the NCDE.

Continue reading . . .

Feds prepare for grizzly bear delisting

May 13, 2013Environmental Issues, Newsbear population, Endangered Species Act, grizzly bear research, grizzly bears, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystemnfpa

Grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) could be removed form the threatened species list as early as next year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFS) is developing a “conservation strategy” to deal with this eventuality. On May 2, a draft version of this plan was released for public comment.

There is going to be a lot of public comment, especially since delisting could result in hunting of this iconic animal.

Here are some links to bring you up to speed . . .

The USFS “Grizzly Bear Recovery” page contains information and links to material on grizzly bears in the NCDE, including links to the “Draft NCDE Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy” and appendices.

Some useful articles in the local press:

More grizzly bears moving out of high country and into town

October 4, 2011Environmental Issues, NewsAshley Creek, grizzly bears, Kalispell, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, urban bear sightingsnfpa

An interesting report from the Missoulian . . .

Like a bucket filled beyond its brim, Montana’s wild spaces are spilling grizzly bears.

In August, a homeowner’s remote camera recorded a 250-pound grizzly bear foraging along Ashley Creek – two blocks from the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks regional headquarters in Kalispell.

“The pool’s closed and the big money’s paid out – we’ve had our first grizzly in Kalispell,” FWP Region 1 bear specialist Erik Wenum joked. “It walked itself right out of town. It wasn’t collared, but it wasn’t doing anything bad. It was just a location issue.”

Those location issues may become more common…

Continue reading . . .

Glacier National Park participates in long-term grizzly monitoring study

June 18, 2011Environmental Issues, Newsbear study, Glacier National Park, grizzly bears, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystemnfpa

An interesting press release posted to Glacier Park’s web site yesterday . . .

Glacier National Park is participating in a long-term interagency program to monitor the trend of the grizzly bear population in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Bait stations, automated cameras, and traps will be used to capture and monitor grizzly bears within the park. The program attempts to maintain a sample of up to 10 radio-marked female grizzly bears out of an estimated population of 300 grizzly bears living in the park.

Bait stations and trap sites will be marked with brightly colored warning and closure signs. For safety reasons visitors are reminded to heed and comply with these signs and not enter areas closed for baiting or trapping. A man died last year seven miles east of Yellowstone National Park after he wandered into a capture site and was attacked by a grizzly bear. Trapping efforts will continue at various locations throughout Glacier National Park beginning June through October. For further information, please contact park bear biologist, John Waller, at (406) 888-7829.