Montana
Grizzly-human encounters picking up in Northwest Montana
A mountain biker out for a ride after work last week used bear spray to repel what he believed was a grizzly bear approaching him on the Starry Goat Trail on Kootenai National Forestland outside of Troy.
The man, who was not identified, spoke to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and a video of the interview was shared on the agency’s YouTube channel.
The encounter occurred last Thursday on the trail which is located off of Callahan Creek Road.
“I saw what I thought was an awfully weird root ball that was blown over, so I looked up at it and when I made a noise, the bear had recognized that I was there and had turned around and decided to come toward me,” he said. “At that point, I had to quickly stop, get off the bike, unclip and pull the bear spray out.”
He said the bear closed the distance really quick and that’s when he thought the bruin was a grizzly bear because of the hump in the shoulders, the facial features and the feet.
“I thought, ‘yelling at this thing is not going to work and what am I in for,’ so I let the bear get pretty close and sprayed it at about 10 feet,” he said. “The bear started to reroute and leave and he basically ran past me in this direction up the hill and sat with his back toward me and started pawing at his face.”
FWP said the Starry Goat Trail remains open but users are urged to remain cautious of possible bear activity.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks staff set up cameras on the trail to try and identify the bear but did not see any activity and recently pulled the cameras.
Flathead Valley landowner shoots, kills grizzly
A grizzly bear charged a man near his residence along Foothill Road east of Kalispell on the night of July 10.
The landowner heard a disturbance outside and discovered the bear getting into a chicken coop. The bear approached him, and he shot and killed it. Fortunately, the man was uninjured in the encounter. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is investigating the incident.
Officials used the occurrences to remind people of how to be bear aware.
Montana is bear country. Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts. Here are some precautions to help recreationists avoid negative bear encounters:
– Carry bear spray in an accessible place and know how to use it.
– Stay alert and look for bear activity, especially where visibility or hearing is limited (woods, bushy areas, streams).
– Anyone traveling quickly (mountain biker, trail runner) can be at high risk of surprising a bear.
– Slow down and look ahead, especially in areas of dense vegetation, berry patches, and around blind corners.
– Ride or run in daylight and in groups.
– Make noise! Let bears hear you, especially where visibility is limited.
For more information and resources on bear safety, visit fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/bear.
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
Brian Miller won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the U.S. House seat in Montana’s eastern district.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller, an attorney in Helena, who fended off a challenge from state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a longtime legislator from Box Elder, and Sam Lux, a farrier from Great Falls.
In the Republican and rural eastern district, any Democrat will be an underdog, and Miller will face off against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, who was unopposed Tuesday.
Libertarian Patrick McCracken is also running.
In the primary, Miller took 58% of the vote. Lux took 27% and Windy Boy took 16%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.
In April, Windy Boy paused his campaign amid “serious sexual abuse” allegations raised by the Montana Democratic Party — but Windy Boy restarted his campaign and later called the allegations “political attacks.”
Miller is representing the victim of the alleged abuse and her mother, although he said he didn’t take on the role until after Windy Boy initially suspended his campaign.
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