Elk NetworkFeds Step Up Vigilance of Montana Grizzly Bear Management

General | March 25, 2020

Seeking to provide peace of mind for those living with grizzly bears along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front, the Department of Interior (DOI) will take more of an active role in expediting management.

DOI Secretary David Bernhardt recently visited Choteau, Montana, where he met with ranchers, landowners and other citizens.

“During this meeting I heard about bears breaking into grain silos, denning in crops, and passing through school grounds,” Secretary Bernhardt wrote in a letter. “The people I met were unsettled by these interactions and felt their concerns were not being heard by the Department of the Interior and the State of Montana.”

As a result, the DOI plans to provide USDA Wildlife Services with funding to hire additional bear conflict specialists in Montana, empower U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to address problems bears in Montana, update grizzly bear hazing guidelines and remind the state that federal funding is available for predator control actions.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supports the management of predator and prey alike in line with the North American Conservation Wildlife Model.

(Photo source: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks)