Legislature declares grizzlies recovered

The Montana Legislature passed a law this session declaring grizzly bears a recovered species. Senate Bill 143 amends previous state law that directed the state to "protect, conserve and manage the grizzly bear as a rare species of Montana wildlife."

The law now reads that grizzlies are a recovered species and "grizzly bear conservation is best served under state management and the local, state, tribal and federal partnerships that fostered recovery."

In addition, the law now declares "that successful conflict management is key to maintaining public support for conservation of the grizzly bear," and the state should use "proactive" management to control grizzly bear distribution and prevent conflicts, "including trapping and lethal measures."

Grizzly bears are listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently working on a post delisting management plan, according to FWS grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen.

Servheen agreed with the state law in part. Grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide and the Greater Yellowstone areas are recovered, he said, but populations in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk regions are not.

In addition to SB143, House Bill 172 authorizes the state to go forward with a hunting season when bears are delisted. The state law sets a grizzly bear license at $150 for a resident and $1,000 for a non-resident.

Servheen said a delisting plan will establish a cap on grizzly bear mortality, regardless of the way they are killed. He said the plan will be ready "in a year or two" but there is no set schedule for its release.

SB143 is expected to cost about $135,000 annually - most of which will go toward paying Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear managers to handle grizzly bear problems.

Local bear populations inhabit the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, a broad swath of land that includes all of Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and lands that straddle the Continental Divide just north of Missoula. It's estimated that more than 750 bears live in the NCDE, a considerable rebound since they were listed in 1975.

Both bills were supported by Sen. Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish, and Rep. Jerry O'Neil, R-Columbia Falls.