Griz study underway

Government biologists are fanning out across Western Montana this month as they start up their grizzly bear pre-baiting and scientific capture operations.

The program is part of an interagency program to monitor grizzly populations in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. It’s a cooperative effort between Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and tribal wildlife managers.

Plans call for work throughout the summer months in Glacier National Park, the North and Middle forks of the Flathead River, the Blackfoot Valley, along the Rocky Mountain Front, and in the Swan and Clearwater River Valleys.

Capturing will continue intermittently through the end of October. Biologists will use natural food sources, such as fresh road–killed deer and elk, to attract bears to snares or culvert traps. Once captured, the bears will be sedated, studied and released in accordance with strict protocols.

Traps will also periodically be set on private and public lands where bear/human conflicts occur. Warning signs will be posted along the major access points to the trapping site.

For more information, call FWP in Kalispell at 752-5501 or Glacier Park at 888-7800.