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.
The threat analysis, which could be completed by late 2015, is one of the final steps before wildlife managers could potentially propose removing protections under the Endangered Species Act for grizzlies in the NCDE. The NCDE is home to more than 1,000 grizzlies in the vast region extending south from the Canadian border through the Flathead and Mission valleys to the Blackfoot River basin near Missoula and includes Glacier National Park.
The population of grizzlies in the Yaak would not be part of that delisted population, and last week a conservation group announced its intent to sue the federal government for failing to reclassify the small population of grizzly bears as endangered.
The estimated 42 Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bears are considered a threatened species.
The FWS last year issued a decision that said changing the bears’ status from threatened to endangered was warranted but precluded by higher-priority species.
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies says in its lawsuit filed last week the population needs to be at least 100 to be considered viable.
The group says an endangered species classification would require federal officials to designate critical habitat for the bears to aid with their recovery.
Another topic at last week’s NCDE meeting was a persistent and worsening threat to grizzlies: chickens.
“Chickens are the new garbage,” said state grizzly bear management specialist Jamie Jonkel.
Officers have responded to an increasing number of incidents related to grizzlies approaching homes or property where chickens and coops have created problematic attractants.
Wildlife officers continue to remind residents to promptly clean up after their chickens and to remove garbage to avoid bear conflicts.
For more information, visit Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ “Bear Aware” site