Conserving Vital Ground for Grizzlies

Last month's shooting of a male grizzly bear along Highway 83 north of Seeley Lake is just one example of how catastrophic a season it's been for bears in the Northwest.

The drought-stricken region from British Columbia, Canada and throughout the last-remaining grizzly bear strongholds in the northern Rockies brought a plethora of grizzlies and black bears into harm's way as they searched for alternative foods after berries and vegetation dried up earlier than normal.

As a result, bears wandered into communities searching for apples, bird seed and garbage -- any food they could find to stave off hunger, feed their cubs and load up on calories before heading to winter dens.

Almost weekly August through November, there were numerous region-wide reports documenting bears killed on highways, bears euthanized for damaging personal property, poached or accidently shot with numerous reports of orphaned cubs.

The Swan, Blackfoot and Missoula valleys were not immune to tragedies, which underscores why bears and sensitive wildlife species need more vital ground to roam.

That's why The Vital Ground Foundation protects crucial grizzly bear and wildlife habitat through cooperative conservation partnerships. Based in Missoula, we focus on strategically located lands where conservation values transcend property boundaries and our organization collaborates with landowners, state and federal agencies and other nonprofits to leverage funds and build cooperative conservation projects.

On private properties, we partner with willing landowners to protect vital habitat through conservation easements and acquisitions, either by purchase or donation. Traditional land uses such as forestry and other agricultural practices are not generally prohibited under conservation easements but simply done thoughtfully and sustainably under a conservation-minded management plan arranged with the landowner.

One example is the late Bud Moore's property, Coyote Forest, which was Vital Ground's very first conservation project in the area. Because of the respect many folks in the Swan Valley had for Bud, we have worked with his friends and neighbors to secure 11 additional conservation easements in the valley.

Although Vital Ground's primary emphasis is to work with private landowners to conserve wildlife habitat for grizzly bears and other wildlife species, last year we expanded our conservation goals to help reduce conflicts between bears and humans by encouraging and supporting "bear aware" communities within our priority project areas.

In 2015, Vital Ground provided conservation partner grants to three organizations working in the Swan and Blackfoot valleys.

One partner is the Swan Valley Bear Resources (SVBR), a collaborative of the Swan Ecosystem Center, Northwest Connections and the U.S. Forest Service. The organization was formed 11 years ago in response to an alarming trend in grizzly bear mortality in the Swan Valley. Pooling resources across multiple organizations and agencies to promote education, reduce bear attractants and minimize conflicts with livestock, SVBR has made significant strides in protecting grizzly bears.

The group works to address bear conflicts on private property and educates landowners to help promote coexistence between people and bears. SVBR has implemented a bear resistant-garbage container loaner program, assists landowners with small livestock to erect bear-proof fences, and their trained staff engages with the public to share information about bears and bear safety.

To the south and at the southern edge of the Crown of the Continent region -- Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Montana State University are entering their second year of a grizzly bear study in the Blackfoot Valley, a study which Vital Ground supports. The last few years a small population of grizzlies have moved into the valley and have caused livestock depredation and crop damage. Consequently, ranchers and conservationists search for tools to reduce conflicts.

One such tool is the electric fence, which has proven effective in reducing conflicts between bears and private property, particularly in calving areas, bee yards and temporary holding areas for livestock. A project underwritten by Montana State University and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will help support a graduate student's project titled, "Effects of Electric Fence Permeability on Grizzly Bears in the Blackfoot Valley," with goals of developing fencing that allows grizzly movement and passage, but hinders unwanted movement and private property damage.

This year, Vital Ground also awarded a grant to The Blackfoot Challenge's Range Rider Program. The group is a collaborative of private landowners and land trusts that coordinate conservation in Montana's Blackfoot Valley and operates the longest-running range-rider program in the United States. This year marks the organization's eighth year providing livestock and carnivore monitoring across 40,000 acres for some 20-30 ranchers whose livestock are seasonally at risk to depredations from wolves and grizzly bears.

The program increases livestock herd supervision rates, uses human presence to discourage attacks, detects and removes carcasses from high-risk sites, monitors livestock herd conditions and health and provides updates to the local community about locations of wolves and grizzlies. Funding helps establish personnel to support projects such as the summer range-rider program as well as winter carnivore monitoring and human-bear conflict reduction.

The Vital Ground Foundation, the leading grizzly bear conservation organization in the world, will continue to support "bear aware" communities and projects so that North America's grizzly populations will continue to be there for future generations.

More on Vital Ground at http://www.vitalground.org