bull trout

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is proposing fishing tackle restrictions on certain sections of the Flathead River. The move is meant to protect westslope cutthroat and bull trout as angling pressure increases.

Tackle restrictions would apply upstream of the Teakettle fishing access site off U.S. Highway 2 near Columbia Falls.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) is proposing to remove non-native trout species in Cooney Creek, a tributary of the upper Swan River in northwest Montana, in an effort to boost native westslope cutthroat and bull trout populations.

FWP manages these species as “species of conservation concern.” Bull trout are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Two conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit this week, challenging the 2018 Flathead Forest Plan.

WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project say the 10 to 15 year management plan for the 2.4 million acre forest decreases habitat protections for wildlife, including grizzly bears, Canada lynx and bull trout.
 

Glacier National Park released an environmental assessment Friday for a proposal to kill off non-native fish in a remote area. Biologists say that could help fortify native species against the threats of climate change, invasive species and habitat loss.

A plan that could change how visitors travel along the Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor is among several projects Glacier National Park announced Monday they’re moving ahead with this year.

The plan to reduce issues of overcrowding along the park’s popular throughway has been in the works for years.

In the beginning, the idea of global warming was easy for me to ignore. Of course I found the footage of floating polar bears distressing, but the ice caps seemed far away, and scientists seemed even farther from any real answers.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act Thursday that it says will streamline efforts to protect species and habitat. Critics say the changes would severely erode the law.

The Flathead National Forest is now reviewing all the objections to the final draft of its new forest management plan.

The Flathead National Forest released that draft plan back in mid-December. It’s essentially the blueprint that will guide land use decisions on the forest for at least the next decade. Groups who were involved in writing the plan had two months to file objections. The Flathead’s Forest Plan Revision Team Leader, Joe Krueger, says that objection period closed Monday.

This week, the shore of the lower Flathead River west of Ronan is the biggest classroom in Montana. Fourth and fifth graders from across western Montana are here for the River Honoring, an annual event hosted by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, where they learn about the plants and animals native to the reservation.

Montana environmental groups are suing the federal government for not protecting the threatened bull trout. Friends of the Wild Swan and Alliance for the Wild Rockies filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Oregon District Court.