Page 57 - Flathead Beacon // 8.17.16

MOUNTAIN EXPOSURE
OUTDOORS IN BRIEF
PUBLIC INVITED TO CELEBRATE PARK SERVICE CENTENNIAL
The National Park Service is celebrating its centennial on Aug. 25 and several events are sched- uled this week in Glacier National Park to mark the occasion.
“The celebration is as much a re ection on the importance the national park system has played in our nation’s heritage as it is an opportunity to look forward to the next 100 years,” Glacier Park Superintendent Je Mow said.
National Park Centennial Instameet
On Aug. 25 from 6 p.m. to sun- set in the Apgar Village Green near the Apgar Village Inn, visitors are encouraged to come together to connect, explore, and celebrate creativity with a camera, make new friends, exchange ideas, and celebrate the 100th birthday of the NPS. All ages, levels of expe- rience and types of cameras are welcome.
Happy Birthday NPS 100 Ranger Program
Say “Happy Birthday NPS” and join a national park ranger for a special program at the St. Mary Visitor Center Auditorium, Thursday, Aug. 25, 8 p.m. Admis- sion is by ticket only, with only 209 tickets available. Attendees can pick up a free ticket at the St. Mary Visitor Center beginning on the morning of Aug. 24.
Logan Pass Star Party
Explore the dark skies of Gla- cier National Park and attend the Logan Pass Star Party. Admission is by ticket only. Attendees can pick up their free ticket (one per vehicle) at the Apgar or St. Mary Visitor Centers beginning Thurs- day, Aug. 25. The Logan Pass Star Party will be held at Logan Pass Parking Lot from 9:30 p.m. to midnight on Friday, Aug. 26.
OUT OF BOUNDS ROB BREEDING SWEET GRASS BEARS
GRIZZLY BEARS MADE IT TO THE Sweet Grass Hills last week. That’s pretty remarkable, seeing as the Hills are about 100 miles east of the Rocky Mountain Front out on the Great Plains.
One-hundred miles isn’t all that far for bears actually, but still, grizzlies are bears of the mountains, or at least moder- nity has rendered them so. More com- monly, they’re bears of the great parks: Glacier and Yellowstone. That’s not the only place they’re found of course, but the parks are the place where we expect them, and even there we expect them to be rare.
The Sweet Grass Hills are another matter. It’s not like they haven’t been there before, despite the inaccurate claims otherwise from agriculture inter- ests who are understandably not thrilled to have bears this far out in Montana farm country.
The Hills are certainly part of the bear’s historic range prior to European settlement, though the hills were sur- rounded by seemingly inexhaustible herds of bison back then. Lewis and Clark encountered grizzly bears all across the Great Plains on their journey to the Paci c. No one has seen them in the Hills for 100 years or so for obvious reasons: we killed them o .
Eliminating predators made perfect sense for early settlers trying to extract a living growing sheep or cattle or wheat. But today we live in the post-conserva- tion era, a time when we have decided to conserve some of the animals those before us sought to eradicate. That’s what a law like the Endangered Species Act is all about: society placing a value on inconvenient, and occasionally dan- gerous wild animals.
We’ve worked hard the last few decades preserving the remaining griz- zlies in the continuous United States. In fact, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of it and deserve to pat ourselves on the back. Wolves are an even more dra- matic success story. We’ve recovered that
species, and while I’d like to see them expand their range into suitable habitat in places like eastern Oregon and north- ern California, it’s also fair to say we have plenty in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming; arguably too many.
These wolves and bears are not bump- ing up against habitat constraints. The limits they are now testing are social and economic. The Endangered Species Act remains a popular, albeit an underfunded and poorly executed law, but there’s noth- ing that guarantees that support will be a permanent condition. Expanding pop- ulations will test that support.
So I think it’s a fair question: Do we want grizzly bears in the Sweet Grass Hills?
I think it’s OK if the answer is “No.”
I’m not saying that’s my answer. Frankly, I’m still trying to process this one. The Hills are a special place, a favor- ite of mine. The fact that griz wandered out that far onto the Plains is remarkable. But the rst thing the bears did when they made it to the Hills (reports are that it’s a pair of probably young griz) is kill 13 politically connected sheep owned by the president of the Montana Wool Growers Association.
Grizzly bears on the Front Range and Yellowstone are expanding beyond the con nes of the parks and national forest lands, reclaiming habitat like the Hills that was once bear country. In their long absence our tolerance for bears has changed. They are no longer vermin to be shot on sight.
But the use of that land has changed aswell.
Where bears once encountered lim- itless open prairie, they now nd farms and towns and potential con ict. It’s a sign of success for the Act that we are moving beyond the days where we’re just trying to keep the bears alive, and we’re now making more complicated decisions about which new places we should allow them to stay.
The long-term success of the Act will require us to make the right call.
LOCATION
We need your help:
Please do your part to stop the spread of zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species in Montana waters.
It’s quick. It’s the law.
And you could win a prize.
Clean, drain, and dry boats, trailers and fishing gear after each use, and always stop at roadside watercraft inspection stations.
Learn more: fwp.mt.gov
LOCATION
Rely on a third generation native of the Flathead Valley to nd the best location for you!
LOCATION
406-249-1764
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AUGUST 17, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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