Polls get opposite results on federal land transfer question
Groups have seized upon a recent poll that appears to show that Montanans favor federal-land transfer. But with other polls showing the opposite, the issue isn’t cut and dried.
Read MoreFed wildlife grants helpful but don't go far enough
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has received another grant of about $850,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for non-game wildlife conservation. But a blue-ribbon panel thinks state wildlife agencies need 20 times more.
On Monday, the USFWS announced that the State Wildlife Grant program would divvy almost $50 million between the states and territories of the U.S for use in 2016. The 16-year old matching-grant program is intended for conservation of primarily non-game wildlife and their habitat.
Read MoreFWP commission considers conservation easements, land donation
Fish, Wildlife & Parks has been able to preserve some critical habitat thanks to Habitat Montana funds. But a legislative restriction on the money may cause FWP to lose some opportunity.
At Thursday’s meeting, FWP commissioners gave the go-ahead to start negotiations on four conservation easements and one donation of land that would benefit elk, mule deer and sage grouse and, in some cases provide additional access to public land.
Read MoreMontana plans for grizzly-bear hunt if delisting isn't challenged
On Wednesday, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representative updated the legislative Environmental Quality Council on what the future might hold for grizzly bears in southwest Montana as long as endangered-species delisting moves forward.
Matt Hogan, USFWS Mountain Prairie Region Deputy Director, told the committee that a big part of the delisting proposal released last week is the associated Conservation Strategy, which should ensure Yellowstone area grizzly bear population stays viable after delisting. The conservation strategy sets bear mortality limits and regulatory mechanisms that Montana, Wyoming and Idaho must use if they implement hunting seasons.
Read MoreMontana's takeover of federal stream permits unlikely
On Monday, a legislative committee heard testimony from several environmental professionals who, although frustrated, said it was better for Montana to defer to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when it comes to permitting projects that require construction work in or near streams or wetlands. Such projects include dam, levee, bridge or road construction, and they sometimes require wetlands or streams to be moved.
Read MoreUSFWS to delist Yellowstone area grizzly bears
Grizzly bears in the greater Yellowstone area may soon be treated like any other species if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s second delisting proposal is approved.
On Thursday, the USFWS announced it would remove the greater Yellowstone area grizzly bears from Endangered Species protection because the population has recovered. The decision was discussed at the most recent Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee meeting in December, although it’s been looming for more than a year.
Read MoreFeds seeking comment on oil exploration south of Dillon
Even though U.S. oil prices have dropped to levels not seen in more than a decade, a Denver-based company is proposing a drilling project that could threaten prime wildlife habitat in southwest Montana.
The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and the Dillon Bureau of Land Management Office are conducting an environmental assessment of oil drilling in the Tendoy Mountains south of Dillon. They are accepting public comment until midnight on March 25.
Read MoreStudy: Elk harboring hampers FWP population control
A new scientific study adds fodder to hunters' claims that landowners who don’t allow public access contribute to elk overpopulation.
On Thursday, at a Wildlife Society meeting in Missoula, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologist Scott Thompson presented research out of the Missouri River Breaks area showing that elk, not surprisingly, tended to harbor on properties that exclude public hunters.
Read MoreBig lands, human tolerance needed for wildlife restoration
Wildlife restoration has seen both triumphs and challenges in the past few decades, but challenges will dominate the future if biologists can’t learn to forge new relationships to overcome intolerance, according to leading Montana biologist.
This week in Missoula, some of the finest wildlife researchers in Montana are attending an annual state meeting of The Wildlife Society to discuss their latest projects and learn of new research on everything from bison to bighorn sheep and beavers. The conference theme is wildlife restoration, so during Wednesday’s kick-off session, experienced conservation leaders told their younger colleagues that future restoration efforts need to focus on large landscapes owned by several entities so the most important part of a biologist’s job would be building relationships with a wide array of people.
Read MoreFWP commission: Send Idaho sheep home
Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission joins other organizations in calling for the end of federally-funded sheep grazing in the Centennial Mountains.
After last week’s marathon FWP commission meeting, the commissioner sent letters to Montana’s Congressional delegation asking them to remove Montana lands from the area managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Experimental Sheep Station.
Read MoreLivestock Board wants AG ruling on bison authority
As the Montana Board of Livestock struggles to keep the Department of Livestock out of debt, it’s asking the state attorney general to clarify the DOL’s responsibility related to bison.
During a discussion of economic affairs and long-range planning, Board of Livestock member John Scully asked the board to approve his letter asking Attorney General Tim Fox to clarify the DOL’s responsibilities related to bison.
Read MoreReport: Private sheep pose threat to most Montana bighorn herds
Nonnative weeds threaten to choke out native grasses on Missoula’s open foothills, so sheep were put to work on Mount Jumbo’s leafy spurge. Unfortunately, Missoula’s wooly alternative endangers one native species that has surprisingly few places left to roam.
On Tuesday, conservation groups released a report showing that 85 percent of Montana’s wild sheep herds are at risk of disease due to nearby domestic sheep. The National Wildlife Federation, Montana Wildlife Federation, Wild Sheep Foundation and Montana Wild Sheep Foundation sponsored the report.
Read MoreCommission approves elk shoulder seasons, reduced season near Gardiner
In many parts of the state, elk season will now last as long as six months.
On Thursday, the Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission sat through more than two hours of discussion and comments before approving, with a few modifications, the next round of elk shoulder seasons. For the next two years, rifle season will extend mostly from Aug. 15 until Feb. 15 in about 40 hunting districts. But outside the general season, hunters can harvest only cows.
Read MoreLawsuit would increase protection for Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bears
In refusing to increase protection and designate critical habitat in the Cabinet-Yaak region, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has probably hampered grizzly-bear recovery, according to a new lawsuit.
On Monday, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the third time in almost two years for not giving more protection to grizzly bears in the Cabinet-Yaak region of northwest Montana.
Read MoreObama budget adds half-percent for federal land management
The Obama administration’s final proposal for an annual budget would allocate $13.4 billion to the Department of the Interior for everything from wildfire suppression to funding for scientific research. But with a Republican-led Congress in an election year, parts of the budget could fall by the wayside by September.
Read MoreReport: NPS amenities are crumbling due to minimal funding
The combination of the recession of a few years ago and repeated Congressional budget cuts have left national parks in poor shape headed into the National Park Service’s centennial, according to a new report.
On Friday, the National Park Service released its annual report on the deferred maintenance that has piled up over a number of years and the huge sums of money needed to overcome the backlog.
Read MoreStudy: Half of carnivore attacks are avoidable
A new study backs up recent grizzly-bear finding that dangerous encounters with predators can be minimized if people are taught how to be smarter.
On Wednesday, University of Calgary bear-attack expert Stephen Herrero published a study detailing almost 70 years of large carnivore attacks and showed that at least half were brought on by human themselves. His aim is to quell the fear of carnivores that some people develop if they don’t understand animal behavior or how to avoid dangerous situations.
Read MoreIn Wilks negotiations, BLM balanced access, public interest
Last week, to the relief of many Montana hunters and pilots, the Central Montana Bureau of Land Management rejected for a second time any land trade proposed by billionaire landowners Farris and Dan Wilks.
Mark Albers, manager of the BLM’s Hi-Line and Lewistown districts, told the Central Montana Resource Advisory Council on Jan. 26 that the BLM didn’t have the resources to properly review and manage such a trade. Land exchanges require a lot of time and resources, and the Wilks’ plan was particularly complex because it involved parcels in different counties, Albers said.
Albers isn’t lying.
Read MoreCHROME gives steely lesson on climate change, fishing
A number of passions have their “porn”- photos or films of epic adventures that most will never experience. For the next few weeks, Montanans will cast off their lined Carhartts and cabin fever and get a taste of summer while watching the 2016 Fly Fishing Film Festival with other angling fanatics.
But amid the documentaries showing men perfecting marlin fishing off the Virginia coast or howling over bass fishing in Guyana, one film steps back a little from the fish fetish to present a call to action.
Read MoreFWP gets sage-grouse transplant approval
This spring, 40 Montana sage grouse hens will be looking for love in Canada.
On Thursday, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission voted to approve the transplant of 40 sage grouse to Alberta, Canada, as part of an effort to bolster Canadian populations. The 3-1 vote went against a recommendation made by the legislative Environmental Quality Council on Wednesday to ban all such transplants for the next three years.
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