Montana
As Grizzlies Fill In Corners Of Montana, Are They Closer To Mingling…
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is telling people they should be prepared to run into grizzlies anywhere west of Billings – but it remains unclear whether a long expected mingling of Wyoming and Montana bears is imminent.
“We can’t tell with certainty that we haven’t had bears moving between those two populations,” Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Greg Lemon told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.
Most recently, there was a confirmed sighting early this summer of a grizzly in southwest Montana’s Tobacco Root Mountains. That’s a place where grizzly bears haven’t been spotted in decades.
It’s typically young male grizzlies that take off on long-distance adventures. But the age and sex of the Tobacco Roots grizzly hasn’t been determined, Lemon said.
Does that mean grizzlies are moving toward a major mingling between two populations centered in Wyoming and Montana? Probably not quite yet, a Wyoming bear expert said.
“The Tobacco Roots are a stepping stone” toward genetic exchange, retired federal ecologist Chuck Neal of Cody told Cowboy State Daily.
“But it’s a fragile stepping stone,” he added.
‘Island Ranges’
So far, the West’s two main populations of grizzlies have remained essentially separated.
About 1,100 bears make up the Northern Continental Divide population, radiating out of Montana’s Glacier National Park.
And a roughly equal number of grizzlies are thought to live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, centered in the heart of northwest Wyoming’s Yellowstone country.
Those two populations could be within 60 miles of each other in some places, and a grizzly in the Tobacco Roots opens new possibilities, Neal said.
The Tobacco Roots are one of the isolated “island ranges” in southwest Montana, he added. If a bear could get across open county to the south, it could get into continuous mountain ranges that would take it into Wyoming.
And adding to the intrigue is the fact that biologists haven’t determined where the grizzly seen traipsing through the Tobacco Roots came from, Lemon said.
Lacking DNA samples from the bear, there’s no way of confirming which population it came from. But the Greater Yellowstone population is the one closer to that area, he said.
Growing Population Or Genetic Exchange?
By the mid-1970s, the grizzly population in the Lower 48 was barely hanging on by a claw. Fewer than 100 of them were left, including some holed up in Yellowstone National Park.
Grizzlies in the Lower 48 were put under federal endangered species protection in 1975.
Since then, they’ve increased in numbers and range across Wyoming, Montana and parts of Idaho. In north-central Montana, they’ve been pushing far out into the open prairies.
Last summer, there was excitement when a grizzly was spotted on the Montana side of the Pryor Mountains. It was near the Wyoming state line, in a place where grizzlies hadn’t been seen since the late 1800s.
And there was a huge buzz this spring when a grizzly bear was confirmed in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains. It was a lone bear that was killed by wildlife agents after it preyed on cattle near Ten Sleep.
With so many grizzlies showing up in so many places, many have argued it’s well past time to delist them and turn management of the bears over to the state.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has plans in place for a grizzly hunting season if and when that happens. And agency director Brian Nesvik told members of the U.S. Congress last year that he favors delisting grizzlies.
But Neal and other conservationists argue that full recovery won’t happen unless and until there is significant genetic exchange between the Northern Continental Divide and Greater Yellowstone populations.
The sheer number of bears doesn’t matter if that genetic exchange isn’t happening, they claim.
Neal added that getting bears “into Central Idaho” – in the remote Bitterroot-Selway region – is also key to recovery.
Delisting efforts reached a fever pitch last year, with Wyoming’s U.S. Congressional delegation and Gov. Mark Gordon all clamoring for it to happen. Then those efforts fizzled.
But delisting could be warming up again. During recent hearings in Washington, D.C., Wyoming Republican U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman again told federal wildlife officials that grizzly delisting is overdue.
‘The Yuppies Haven’t Found It Yet’
Though a bear in the Tobacco Roots, as well as grizzlies popping up elsewhere raises hopes, the arguments over delisting could still be deadlocked.
But wildlife overpasses might break the impasse, Neal said.
As the Northern Continental Divide and Greater Yellowstone grizzlies continue to inch ever closer to each other, Interstate highways in Montana remain a significant barrier between them, Neal said.
“A lone bear occasionally making it across I-90” isn’t going to do the trick, he said.
What might pave the way for widespread grizzly romance between populations would be an overpass or overpasses across isolated stretches of Interstate 15, running between southwest Montana and the Idaho state line.
“That’s one of the least-developed parts of southwest Montana. The yuppies haven’t found it yet,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
BOZEMAN — Montana State will begin spring football practices March 24.
The reigning national champion Bobcats will hold 12 practices, two scrimmages and the Sonny Holland Spring Classic over the course of five weeks. The Sonny Holland Spring Classic is scheduled for Saturday, April 25.
Also on the schedule is the MSU Pro Day, which will be held April 2.
In addition to releasing the spring practice schedule, Montana State confirmed the addition of Nolan Askelson to the coaching staff. Askelson, a Billings Senior High School alum, will be an assistant defensive line coach for Bobby Daly, who is returning as Montana State’s defensive coordinator after spending last season at UTEP.
Askelson was a standout linebacker for the Bobcats, capping his MSU career with first-team All-Big Sky Conference honors in 2023. He played in four games as a true freshman in 2018 before becoming a regular rotation player in 2019. An injury shortened his 2021 season, but he played 11 games in 2022 and finished with 64 tackles.
As a senior in 2023, Askelson wore Montana State’s legacy No. 41 jersey and led the team with 84 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss and two sacks.
In high school, he was a two-time all-state selection for Senior and helped the Broncs win Class AA state championships in 2016 and 2017.
Montana State spring football schedule
Tuesday, March 24 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Thursday, March 26 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Friday, March 27 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Monday, March 30 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Wednesday, April 1 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Thursday, April 2 — Pro Day (no practice)
Friday, April 3 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Saturday, April 4 — Practice, 10:05 a.m.
Tuesday, April 7 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Friday, April 10 — Closed scrimmage, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 14 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Thursday, April 16 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Saturday, April 18 — Closed scrimmage, 10:05 a.m.
Tuesday, April 21 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Thursday, April 23 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.
Saturday, April 25 — Sonny Holland Spring Classic, 1 p.m.
Although newly minted GOP candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate have garnered heavyweight endorsements, the Montana Republican Party said Thursday it won’t throw its support behind any candidates for federal office in the primary.
“The Montana Republican Party (MTGOP) stands behind its deep bench of qualified candidates seeking to represent Montanans and supports a competitive primary process to let voters pick their preferred candidates,” the Montana GOP said in a news release Thursday.
Monday, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke announced he was retiring due to health concerns once his term ends, and he immediately tapped talk-show host Aaron Flint as his preferred successor in Congress.
Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and Flathead County Republican Central Committee Chairperson Al Olszewski also filed for the U.S. House as Republicans, as did Ray Curtis of Bonner.
Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines withdrew, and in a statement the same night, announced an endorsement of former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who had filed the same day.
In the Senate, Lee Calhoun and Charles Walking Child also filed to run in the Republican primary.
Endorsements for Flint and Alme cascaded. U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed both candidates, and U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy and Gov. Greg Gianforte threw their weight behind Flint and Alme.
Late on Wednesday, the Montana GOP did not immediately have comment on the news Daines, Montana’s senior U.S. senator, had resigned, but Thursday, the party thanked Zinke and Daines for their service.
A news release said the party would not endorse any candidates in the federal primary and would leave the job in the hands of voters.
“The party hopes every candidate will make their case to the public, contrasting their Republican policies and principles with those of Democrats — as well as phony ‘Independents,’” the news release said.
Former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar announced a run for the U.S. Senate as an independent this week.
A tension within the Republican party has emerged in recent years between hardline conservatives and more moderate members, and some legislative primaries illustrate the split.
This week, the state GOP said the number of primaries for state legislative seats shows a high interest from Montanans who want to serve the state and pass Republican policy, and the MTGOP “is glad to see so many Republicans being called to public service.”
In a brief call, MTGOP spokesperson Ethan Holmes said the party had not ruled out endorsements in legislative primaries.
In the news release, however, the MTGOP offered its view of the larger political debate.
“Montana voters know that beyond the primaries, there is a clear choice between Republican and Democratic governance; one path leads to lower taxes, less crime and stronger families, and the other leads to higher taxes, more crime, and social decay,” MTGOP Chairperson Art Wittich said in a statement.
The news release also said the state GOP is working “tirelessly to deliver a Bright Red Future” at both the state and federal level and looks forward to help candidates whom voters select win in November.
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