Montana Public Radio

grizzly bears

Lawsuit Says Feds Illegally Killing Montana Wildlife

By • Nov 20, 2019
When the M-44 trap is set, only the capsule holder and capsule protrude above ground level.
Guy Connely - U.S. Department of Agriculture

A lawsuit filed this week in Missoula says the federal government is illegally killing Montana’s native wildlife. The plaintiffs want a court to put a stop to it pending a full environmental review.

Flathead National Forest Approves Logging, Fire, Trail Project

By • Nov 20, 2019
Map of the Taylor Hellroaring Project.
FS USDA – https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/www/nepa/105405_FSPLT3_4301037.pdf

The Flathead National Forest officially approved the Taylor Hellroaring project just north of Whitefish Monday. The project will include nearly 2,000 acres of logging, mechanical thinning and prescribed fire treatments as well as construction of 28 miles of new trails.

Meetings Highlight Disconnect Over Grizzly Connectivity

By & • Nov 18, 2019
Fred Allendorf speaks during a Nov. 15, 2019 meeting in Missoula about grizzly bear connectivity. The meeting was called by five independent researchers. Organizers Jake Kreilick and Mike Bader are visible in the background.
Nick Mott / Montana Public Radio

After Montana’s new Grizzly Bear Advisory Council met last week in Bozeman to map out a state management plan for the expanding grizzly bear populations near Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, researchers in Missoula railed against turning management over from federal agencies to the state.

As grizzly bear populations in Montana expand into areas where they haven’t been seen for generations, so does the number of potential conflicts with humans.

Northwest Montana Grizzly Deaths Spur Pushback

By • Nov 13, 2019
Grizzly bear track.
Jim Peaco (PD) / National Park Service

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — The mortality rate of grizzly bears in northwestern Montana has prompted a group of bear researchers to challenge whether the grizzly should be removed from federal protection.

Two Grizzlies Killed In Northwest Montana

By • Nov 12, 2019
Grizzly bear. Stock photo.
iStock

Montana wildlife officials announced Tuesday that two grizzlies were recently killed in northwest Montana. A food-conditioned male grizzly bear was euthanized over the weekend and a female was killed by a hunter last week.

Groups Threaten Lawsuit Over Grizzlies Killed By Trains

By • Oct 28, 2019
Two grizzly bear cubs killed by a train near Trego were discovered Oct. 15, 2019.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Conservation groups announced Monday that they sent a letter to BNSF Railway threatening a lawsuit over grizzly bears killed along its train tracks. So far this year, a record eight grizzlies from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) have been killed by trains.

Grizzly bears in the Lower 48 are protected as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. It’s illegal to kill them, even if it’s an accident.

Officials Investigating 3 Human-Caused Grizzly Bear Deaths In Southwest Montana

By • Oct 28, 2019

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating several recent human-caused grizzly bear deaths in southwest Montana. 

Montana Renews Calls For Yellowstone-Area Grizzly Delisting In Latest Court Brief

By • Oct 23, 2019
A grizzly bear mother and cub in Yellowstone Park.
iStock

The state of Montana filed its final arguments late last week in the complex and controversial lawsuit over the fate of Yellowstone-area grizzly bears.

In the summer of 2017 the Department of the Interior removed Endangered Species Act protections for the roughly 700 bears estimated to live in the area at the time. Tribes and conservation groups promptly filed suit and a federal judge in Missoula restored protections for the bruins last fall

FWP Relocates 3 Grizzlies That Were Seeking Human Food

By • Oct 21, 2019
Grizzly bear mother and cub, stock photo.
(PD)

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) moved three grizzly bears from the Bigfork and Libby areas after the animals attempted to access human food.

Trains Kill Two Grizzly Cubs Near Whitefish

By • Oct 16, 2019
Two grizzly bear cubs killed by a train near Trego were discovered Oct. 15, 2019.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Two grizzly bear cubs were killed by a train northwest of Whitefish. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) discovered the carcasses Tuesday.

Trains have now killed more grizzlies in 2019 than any year on record.

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