In Montana, 23 grizzlies have died so far this year, while 38 have died in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which includes Wyoming.
There could be some overlap in those numbers, because parts of Montana are in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
The causes of the bears’ deaths have varied, from being killed by hunters in self-defense, killed by wildlife agents for preying on cattle or being struck by vehicles and trains.
That’s according to reports posted by the U.S. Geological Service (USGS) and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP).
FWP recently launched an online grizzly bear mortality dashboard that the public can use to track how many grizzlies die in Montana, and how.
The USGS’s Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team has for years tracked grizzly deaths in the GYE and provided regular reports thought its website.
Montana Anticipates Delisting
Many of Montana’s estimated 2,000 grizzlies aren’t part of the GYE bear population. That’s why FWP wanted a monitoring site of its own, agency spokesman Greg Lemon told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.
“We wanted to be transparent with the public and let them know what mortalities are happening, and why,” Lemon said. “There’s never been one place for Montanans to look and see what the mortalities are in this state.”
The mortality dashboard is part of Montana gearing up for its own grizzly management plan once the bears are delisted from federal protection in the Lower 48, he said.
Tracking mortality rates, and how they affect the overall bear population, will be key component of Montana’s grizzly management plan.
Montana Has Grizzlies Galore
With those estimated 2,000 bears, Montana has by far the most grizzlies in the Lower 48.
Current population estimates for the Greater Yellowstone (GYE), much of which is in Wyoming, are roughly 1,000 bears.
Outside of its share of the GYE, Montana’s main grizzly population is in the Northern Continental Divide region, centered in Glacier National Park. There are also established grizzly populations in Montana’s Bitterroot Mountains and the Cabinet-Yaak wilderness ecosystem.
Grizzlies have also been pushing east, out onto Montana’s prairies and into the rugged Missouri Breaks.
However, those prairie grizzlies are still regarded as mostly lone, wandering bears, and not an established population, Lemon said.
States Want To Manage Grizzlies
Much of the hands-on management of grizzlies is already being done by FWP, Wyoming Game and Fish and Idaho Fish and Game.
However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service still has primary oversight of grizzly management and will continue to have it, so long as grizzlies are listed.
If and when grizzlies are delisted, management will be handed completely over to the state agencies.
When the delisting might happen could be anybody’s guess.
Efforts to delist the bears have come close to succeeding a couple of times.
There were previous efforts to have grizzlies delisted in 2007 and 2017. And in 2017, it looked to be a go.
So much so, that Wyoming Game and Fish planned for a grizzly hunting season in 2018. But the delisting was cancelled by a federal court injunction.
Talk of delisting heated up again last year. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and the Cowboy State’s Congressional delegation got behind efforts to push delisting through, but that effort fizzled.
Wyoming Wants Grizzly Hunting, Montana Will Wait
Wyoming still favors immediately opening a grizzly hunting season if the bears are delisted, but Montana will hold back, Lemon said.
If grizzlies are delisted, it would be at least five years before Montana opened a hunting season for them, he said.
Instead, FWP would concentrate mostly on setting quotas for how many grizzlies could be killed for preying on livestock, without disrupting grizzly conservation.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
