Bill would provide money to stop bear attacks

A bill to fund nonlethal measures to reduce the impacts of grizzly bear and wolf predation on livestock in Montana has been introduced to the Montana Legislature.

Rep. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, proposed similar legislation during the 2013 legislative session. His bill passed but was eventually vetoed.

House Bill 145 calls for establishing a “livestock loss restricted special revenue account” to compensate livestock owners for predation by wolves and grizzly bears. The bill calls for an initial appropriation of $400,000.

Half of the money would be used for “nonlethal, preventative measures.” One such measure that has proven to be effective is electrified grizzly-proof fencing, Cuffe said.

Cuffe said the impetus behind the bill is to get grizzly bears delisted as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Specie Act. He cited a case from several years ago in which a grizzly sow and her cub slaughtered dozens of sheep spread across three different ranches in Northwest Montana.

“These bears are essentially marauding unchecked,” he said.

Federal authorities have been trying to protect grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and increase the bear population in the Cabinet-Yaak area. When a bear attacks people or livestock, that bear is either removed or killed, which decreases the overall population and increases repopulation efforts.  

Cuffe said his goal is to prevent the attacks, thereby eliminating the need for relocation and  compensation.

“We need this management piece if we’re ever going to be able to delist the grizzly bear,” Cuffe said. “That’s my end game, to delist the grizzly.”

His earlier bill passed both houses in 2013 with broad support from a variety of groups. Cuffe said he had the support of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, farmers, ranchers and environmental groups.

Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed the bill because the Senate changed the funding source of the bill from the general fund to a more restricted account, Cuffe said. While previous governors had allowed similar use of that restricted account, Bullock declined to do so.

Cuffe said he expects the bill to pass again. He’s seen no organized opposition to the bill, and he anticipates the governor’s eventual support.

“Last year’s issue was the source of the funding, not the notion of the bill,” Cuffe said.