FWP wants goats back in Whitefish Range

For decades, a relatively small band of mountain goats lived in the Whitefish Range. But poaching and over hunting all but exterminated the herd. The last sighting of goats in the Whitefish range was in the early 1990s, and those were probably stragglers from Canada or Glacier National Park.

Now Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is proposing reintroducing goats to the Whitefish Range from a robust population in the Crazy Mountains near Big Timber.

Starting as early as this January, FWP biologist Tim Thier said the plan is to capture about 15 goats from the Crazies and transplant them to the Whitefish Range near Stryker Mountain.

The hope is to catch several nannies and their kids and about four billy goats. Once they’re transplanted, the hope is they’ll re-establish a viable population. The hope is to eventually have about 75 goats roaming the Whitefish Range, Thier said.

The goats would be captured using helicopters and net guns. A net gun is a net that’s shot out of a gun over the animal. The animal is then immobilized and it’s put in a crate for transport. By transporting them in individual crates, it reduces the risk of injury to the goats and to handlers, Thier noted. The animals are not tranquilized.

Biologists want to work in the winter months because it reduces heat stress on the animals — goats, with their thick, white coats are made for winter after all — and because in a winter release, the animals should bond and stay in a more central location because of snow.

The goats in their crates would be transported to the release site by snowmobile. Some would be fitted with radio collars to track their movements. They would also be checked for disease before release.

The Crazy Mountain herd was introduced into that range of mountains in the 1940s and is beginning to outgrow its capacity. Its genetic lineage traces back to native Crown of the Continent goats, Thier said. They were originally from herds from the Deep Creek area along the Rocky Mountain Front.

The cost of this project is roughly $12,000,  he said.

The public can comment on the project until Nov. 3. Copies of the draft environmental assessment are available at FWP headquarters, 490 N Meridian, Kalispell; Montana State Library, 1515 E 6th Ave., Helena; Lincoln County Libraries - 220 W 6th, Libby; 318 Dewey Ave., Eureka; and 207 N 3rd, Troy; and the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov under Public Notices.