Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is expected to adopt a plan this spring that will, in the event of a federal removal of grizzly bears from endangered species protections, guide state management of one of the West’s most iconic species. To better understand how that plan has been received, Montana Free Press spoke with three Montanans representative of prominent voices in the grizzly management conversation: a retired federal bear biologist who’s now a leading voice in conservation circles, a Rocky Mountain Front rancher living among an expanding and dispersing population of grizzlies, and an outfitting industry representative who calls for local authorities to have a greater control over natural resource management. They shared their perspectives on federal versus state management, establishing a grizzly hunting season, and the challenges of coexisting with an apex predator.
‘A TONE OF INTOLERANCE’
Missoula-based wildlife biologist Chris Servheen had been leading the federal grizzly bear recovery effort for 20 years when he was asked to help decide the fate of a mother grizzly that had been grievously wounded by an elk hunter she’d startled. After shooting the sow in the face with a high-caliber rifle, the hunter reported his run-in with the bear and her three cubs to state officials, who dispatched a Rocky Mountain Front-based state bear biologist to determine if the shot had been fatal.
It turned out not to be. The shot knocked the 16-year-old grizzly unconscious, but she eventually got up and continued going about her business.
Except that she didn’t — not quite. December of 2002 came and went, then January of 2003. Grizzly 144 and her cubs continued to wander up and down the Front, a dramatic, sparsely populated piece of country that residents refer to as a “wild working landscape.” The sow kept her 1-year-old cubs away from people, but kept circling the same piece of ground when she should have been heading into her den for the winter.
The bear biologist working for the state, who had been utilizing radio collar information to monitor Grizzly 144 and her offspring, requested Servheen’s input on the possible courses of action. After careful consideration, the biologist concluded that intervention was necessary in order to encourage 144 and her cubs to enter hibernation, thus safeguarding their limited fat reserves.
In freezing temperatures on a blustery day in February, the biologist was concerned about the tranquilizer freezing as he immobilized the sow. Using a dart fired from a helicopter, he successfully immobilized her. A wildlife veterinarian administered a strong dose of antibiotics, removed bone fragments from her head, and sutured her gunshot wound. Following this, the biologist relocated Grizzly 144 into a spacious culvert trap insulated with hay. The trap had been placed in the Blackleaf Wildlife Management Area, which was closed to the public during the winter season. Patiently, the biologist awaited the arrival of 144’s cubs into the trap before closing it and securing all four bears inside.
Afterwards, the biologist patiently anticipated the hibernation of 144 and her cubs, wondering if she would rekindle her seasonal instincts and if her cubs would endure.
Servheen said the episode, long ago as it was, sticks with him still. Even now, six years into semi–retirement, Servheen said his thoughts sometimes turn to grizzlies he’s seen, heard about or personally handled in the course of his 35-year career leading the federal government’s effort to help the species recover.
Those thoughts come into sharper focus now that Servheen’s former employer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is taking a closer look at delisting Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzlies. If the agency successfully removes those populations from the United States’ list of endangered and threatened species, Montana will take over management of its state animal, assuming a level of authority it hasn’t had since Lower 48 grizzlies became one of the first species placed on the endangered list in 1975.
Once a leading proponent of grizzly delisting who helped bring about a fivefold increase in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s grizzly population, Servheen now calls for Montana policy makers to pump the brakes and take a more conservative approach to managing intentional and unintentional grizzly bear deaths. More specifically, he’s concerned that Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ draft management plan, which it released to the public in December, reflects a politicization of predator management in Montana. It’s a “disappointing” plan, Servheen said, written with an overall “tone of intolerance.”
It focuses more on establishing a hunting season than on conflict prevention, he said, and fails to address bear mortalities arising from laws the Montana Legislature passed in 2021 seeking to reduce predator populations, which he calls the “dead elephant in the corner.” He’s also displeased that the draft plan allows hunters and wildlife managers to kill non-conflict bears traveling between recovery zones rather than supporting those bears’ movements in order to achieve a long-time recovery goal — interbreeding of isolated populations living between northwest and southwest Montana.
In a conversation with Montana Free Press in January, Servheen, currently serving as the chair of the Montana Wildlife Federation Board, expressed his belief that instead of seeking ways to kill grizzly bears and limit their presence once they are no longer listed as endangered, we should take pride in living in an area within the Lower 48 states that has the highest population of these bears. He stated that managing the state animal in such a manner is not in line with our values.
Instead of focusing on ways to kill grizzly bears and limit their population after they’re removed from the endangered species list, we should take pride in living in the Lower 48 states’ region with the highest concentration of these magnificent creatures.
Retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grizzly Recovery Coordinator Chris Servheen
An experienced reader and writer of management plans, Servheen offered 18 pages of detailed comments on the 217-page plan on behalf of MWF, the state’s oldest and largest conservation organization. It’s irresponsible, he said, to allow hunting of groups of bears — mothers with their young, for example — particularly given the species’ slow reproductive rate. He’d also like the plan to include more direction as to how state wildlife managers will prevent hunters and trappers from inadvertently maiming and killing grizzlies given newly relaxed wolf hunting and trapping regulations that now authorize the use of neck snares and hunting with bait. The recent re-legalization of hunting black bears with hounds will also lead to conflict and grizzly bear deaths, he maintains.
In addition to his remarks, Servheen advocates for increased monitoring efforts. He urges the state to keep tabs on all grizzly bear deaths, not just those within current recovery zones. He raises concerns about the state’s capacity to ensure a sustainable grizzly bear population if wildlife managers solely monitor bear mortality or removal within the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems.
When asked about one thing he wishes was more widely known about grizzlies and how they are managed, Servheen highlighted that these animals are not a frightening presence in the environment. In fact, grizzlies generally tend to steer clear of human interaction as long as humans make certain adjustments to coexist with these top predators in their habitat.
‘JUST ANIMALS THAT LIVE ON THE PLANET THAT NEED TO BE MANAGED SO PEOPLE CAN LIVE HERE, TOO’
Valier cattle rancher Trina Bradley has had “all of the encounters with bears,” she says. When she was growing up near Dupuyer (population 93) her family found the animals digging in their vegetable garden, sitting on their front steps, climbing on their swing set. One of her brothers was chased by a grizzly when he was a teenager. Last year, another brother encountered them twice while working on his ranch.
“They’re all over the place,” she remarked. “While my daughter was young, it was too risky for her to play outdoors. If I wasn’t present, armed with a gun, she simply couldn’t enjoy outdoor activities.”
Similar to her father, Bradley has taken on the responsibility of addressing the concerns of agricultural producers residing along the Rocky Mountain Front, a scenic area characterized by towering peaks of the Northern Rockies descending into the expansive high plains. As the executive director of the Rocky Mountain Front Ranchlands Group and the chair of a subcommittee on endangered species within the Montana Stockgrowers Association, predator management has become a significant focus of Bradley’s current work.
Bradley pointed out that there is a distinction between wild bears and habituated bears, specifically referring to grizzlies that have become so familiar with human presence that they no longer experience fear and consequently stay away from people.
She stated that due to years of mismanagement, there is an abundance of bears in the area that should not be present. Failure to remove them has resulted in the presence of multiple generations of bears prone to conflicts on the landscape.
She expressed her desire for the state to assume control of grizzly management and implement stricter measures to deter the animals from residing near human settlements. This is especially important as their habitat expands further into the sparsely populated plains of central Montana, which are predominantly privately owned. She emphasized that it is unacceptable for bears to freely roam in close proximity to her and her neighbors’ structures and facilities. She pointed out that grizzlies can cause significant harm to agricultural properties by consuming crops such as peas, barley, and chickpeas, as well as disturbing natural food sources like wild onions and gophers.
As Bradley sees it, the Rocky Mountain Front is saturated with grizzlies, and has been for some time. While she and her husband have strung an electric fence around their chicken coop, adjusted how and when they turn calves out in the spring, and modified their summer pasture rotation to avoid run-ins with bears, they remain an ever-present issue.
“In our community, grizzlies are constant neighbors, present round the clock,” she expressed in a September article featured in the Choteau Acantha. “The perpetual presence of such a top predator imposes an impact on us each and every day, throughout the year.”
In 2019 and 2020, Bradley served on the Grizzly Bear Advisory Committee convened by then-Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, which she described as “an awesome and frustrating” experience. Overall, she said, she’s pleased that many of the committee’s recommendations are reflected in the draft plan FWP released for public comment in December, but there are a handful of things she’d like the department to change or clarify.
Bradley strongly believes that the grizzly bears’ role in the food chain should not result in people treating them differently from other wildlife.
“They’re not perceived as wildlife, but rather some enchanting unicorns,” she stated. “However, grizzly bears and wolves are simply ordinary animals coexisting on this planet, requiring management to ensure harmonious living alongside humans.”
According to Bradley, effective management cannot be achieved through a single solution. The issue of bear conflict cannot be resolved solely by implementing measures like electric fences or removing carcasses, nor can deterrents like livestock guardian dogs or noise cannons alone solve the problem. Bradley emphasized that all of these approaches are crucial and must be employed collectively.
Bradley emphasized the necessity for policy makers to allocate public funds to the residents of Front, ensuring the implementation of tools that are crucial for the preservation of grizzlies and other wildlife in their natural habitat. She expressed her belief that the financial responsibility should be shared more equitably, as currently, Montana livestock producers, management agencies, and conservationists are working tirelessly to secure public funds to acquire additional tools. However, the demand for these tools consistently outweighs the available resources.
Grizzly bears and wolves are not perceived as typical wildlife, but rather, they are often regarded with a fantastical aura like mythical unicorns; however, this perception does not align with their true nature.
Rocky Mountain Front Ranchlands Group Executive Director Trina Bradley
Bradley believes in the implementation of a grizzly bear hunting season as it has the potential to engage and gain support from sportsmen and sportswomen who may not have an interest in or may even oppose the presence of grizzly bears in Montana. This strategy could attract a new demographic that would actively contribute towards the conservation of grizzly bears.
Hunting is one of the most controversial pieces of the plan. A 2020 survey found that 49% of Montanans support enough hunting to manage for a population target, while 17% said grizzlies should never be hunted. Tribes across Montana, including the Crow, Blackfeet, Northern Cheyenne and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, signed a 2018 letter opposing Wyoming’s proposal to establish a grizzly hunting season when the U.S. government last attempted to delist Yellowstone grizzlies. (That effort was ultimately blocked in federal court.)
Additionally, Bradley expressed her desire for explicit population targets, a component that is absent from the draft plan. While Bradley acknowledged that including specific population targets may invite opposition, she personally finds solace in having a definite number as a reference point.
In her comments on the plan, she expressed concerns about the lack of information regarding how FWP plans to manage the increasing population and determine the maximum capacity of the landscape. She emphasized the need for clarity on measures to prevent bears from overrunning the area or encroaching into unnecessary territories.
She mentioned that biologists are aware of the carrying capacity and can easily quantify it.
‘BEARS ARE INCREDIBLY RESILIENT’
Mac Minard, who spent 22 years working as a fisheries biologist in Alaska, the only state with more grizzlies than Montana, became the executive director of the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association in 2004.
One day, while conducting research for his undergraduate degree in wildlife management and research, Minard counted 37 brown bears on a single Alaskan stream. (Though they’re technically the same species, wildlife managers consider grizzlies to be a smaller, inland subspecies of brown bear.) Two decades later, Minard’s colleagues at the Alaska Fish and Game Department participated in the state’s response to the deaths of Timothy Treadwell and Amie Hugenard. Treadwell, who’d written “Among Grizzlies: Living with Wild Bears in Alaska,” had been killed by the bears he’d been documenting for years. Minard also remembers an early 1990s incident when a female brown bear and her three cubs peered into his basement window as he watched TV with his daughter, who was about 2 at the time.
He explained, “Upon realizing the situation, I concluded that we cannot allow it to persist. Thus, we took measures to apply adverse conditioning. I proceeded to insert a considerable amount of bird shot into the bear’s hindquarters, leading the bear to determine that this location is unsuitable for her and her cubs.”
Minard believes that hunting grizzlies has the advantage of adverse conditioning, which discourages them from getting too comfortable around humans. Additionally, he sees it as a way to assist wildlife managers in reducing grizzly populations that go beyond sustainable biological objectives. Drawing from his experiences in Alaska, he expects a growing public demand for grizzly hunts in Montana.
Minard, residing in Helena, expressed confidence in the state’s capacity to effectively and responsibly handle grizzlies, and generally favors state-level natural resource management over federal control. He criticized the federal government’s management approach as overly broad and lacking consideration for the diverse range of values associated with grizzlies.
He stated that the federal management approach is binary, either fully implemented or not at all. However, a state-managed solution allows for a flexible commission to consider the diverse social values attributed to grizzlies and adjust regulations accordingly to accommodate those interests.
Minard remarked that bears possess remarkable resilience. He anticipates their ability to adapt, propagate, and traverse various habitats due to their omnivorous nature.
Minard first spoke to MTFP a week before the federal government’s Feb. 3 announcement that it found sufficient merit in petitions submitted by Montana and Wyoming to delist NCDE and Yellowstone grizzlies. That announcement started a yearlong process for USFWS to explore the status of grizzly bears and the regulatory conditions in the three states — Montana, Wyoming and Idaho — that support grizzly populations.
Bears possess remarkable resilience, and I have a strong belief that they will discover means to reproduce and explore various habitats. As omnivores, they can adapt to diverse environmental conditions.
Montana Outfitters and Guides Association Executive Director Mac Minard
It’s not the first time USFWS has pursued a delisting action: The agency attempted to delist Yellowstone grizzlies in 2017 but was blocked in federal court after environmental groups, the Crow Tribe and others sued to restore protections. The agency failed to account for how delisting of Yellowstone grizzlies would affect the recovery of other Northern Rockies grizzlies, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found. The same court also blocked a 2007 Yellowstone grizzly delisting attempt, finding that evidence did not support the federal government’s conclusion that the loss of white bark pine (a food source for the bears and itself now a listed species) would not threaten grizzly recovery.
During his conversation with MTFP on January 31st, Minard hinted at the existence of a push-pull dynamic. He acknowledged that the process of grizzly bear delisting would require a significant amount of time. Minard emphasized that he adopts a long-term perspective on this matter.
He expressed, “Eventually, there will come a time when all political forces align perfectly, leading to the removal of the bear from the endangered list and the implementation of a hunting season. Once this happens, life will resume as normal, and we can proudly declare this as a victorious achievement in conservation.”
THE COEXISTENCE CHALLENGE
Ken McDonald, the administrator of the wildlife division at FWP, is responsible for finding a middle ground between contrasting perspectives on grizzlies in the agency’s management plan.
In the upcoming month, FWP will review over 600 comments from the public and government agencies, including USFWS. They will then release a draft decision notice, potentially incorporating significant changes to the plan that was open for public feedback in December. Following this, the final decision notice will be published as the next version of the plan. Overall, McDonald expects the agency to finalize the plan in April.
According to McDonald, grizzly bear hunting, which is highly debated, would still require the approval of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission. This commission consists of seven members appointed by the governor, who are responsible for determining hunting seasons and deciding the locations for the release of captured bears. Additionally, McDonald mentioned that there is also a public participation aspect involved in this process.
McDonald stated that the plan allows FWP to assess the management of bears connecting the NCDE and Yellowstone regions on an individual basis, addressing concerns raised by conservation groups about insufficient mechanisms for supporting connectivity between existing grizzly populations. He further mentioned that the plan will exhibit reduced leniency towards bears venturing east into the prairie and encountering human conflicts.
He stated that bears are unlikely to come out as winners in those scenarios.
FWP is also grappling with the flip side of the expansion dynamic: human expansion into the wild, remote country that grizzlies favor. A 30-county region of western and central Montana that’s been identified as most impacted by the plan is home to 89% of the state’s human population, while accounting for only about half of its total land mass. More than a million acres of previously open space in that region — an area slightly larger than Glacier National Park — has been converted to residential development during this quarter-century, the state estimates.
According to McDonald, while FWP staff is allowed to provide comments on subdivision applications, their influence on land use in private properties is limited. However, the department has taken measures to hire additional bear managers to effectively prevent and address conflicts.
McDonald revealed that during the previous autumn, he had a team of individuals stationed in Gardiner for an uninterrupted period of three days. The objective was to handle the situation where bears were infiltrating Gardiner during the night, while the bear managers were attempting to disperse them before morning when people would be active in the area. McDonald emphasized that the majority of people are not aware of the extensive dedication and specialized knowledge required to facilitate a harmonious coexistence between bears and humans.
McDonald, like others interviewed for this article, expressed that the management of grizzlies has become a matter of politics. The public expects elected and appointed officials to take a different approach, and these officials, in turn, urge wildlife managers to make changes. Over the past ten years, politicians from both the Republican and Democratic parties, including Governor Greg Gianforte, former Governor Steve Bullock, and Montana’s current U.S. senators, have advocated for state management of the state animal. McDonald believes that the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) can reduce the politicization by minimizing conflicts between humans and bears. He also suggests that it would be helpful if people could develop more tolerance for bears without feeling like they are being forced into an overly restrictive regulatory system.
When asked about his personal perspective on the grizzly presence in Montana, McDonald expressed that he views it as a positive indication of the state’s successful management of bears and their essential habitat.
He expressed that the existence of grizzly bears in Montana signifies the abundant and expansive wilderness that allows creatures like grizzly bears and other large carnivores to flourish.
According to Servheen, a former bear biologist from the USFWS, grizzly bears possess a remarkable ability to increase people’s consciousness of the untamed environments they coexist with. If you talk to someone who has encountered a grizzly bear, they can often vividly recollect the occurrences of that particular day, including the specific location, time of day, the bear’s actions, and even the company they were with.
“He said that the enchanting aspect of grizzly bears lies in their ability to etch everything into your memory, enabling a heightened and immersive experience of the landscape.”
Mike Madel, the bear biologist from FWP who played a crucial role in determining the outcome for Grizzly 144, vividly remembers the events of that blustery November day in 2002. He was tasked with investigating the fate of the bear after she had been inadvertently shot by a surprised elk hunter. He can still recall discovering her lying motionless at the base of a dense hill, which she had tumbled down. Her three cubs were crying out in distress, but eventually, the mother bear managed to stand up, and her cubs gathered around her to nurse.
Madel reported that his intervention yielded positive results, with a total of 144 bears and their cubs successfully hibernating and re-emerging in April. The following year, she returned to her typical denning location.
He stated that, to the best of our knowledge, she managed to survive for several additional years.
