CHOTEAU--Montana Farm Bureau members joined state and national leaders during a meeting Wednesday in Choteau regarding grizzly bear conflicts and the need for a realistic, sustainable number of the federally protected species in the area. Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks Director Christy Clark and Joshua Coursey, senior advisor to the director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service listened as area landowners and residents shared their thoughts on the bears.

Prior to the afternoon meeting, Governor Gianforte and Director Clark took an aerial tour of the area to get the big picture where bear densities have caused recent concerns with landowners and residents in the Choteau area.

“Our message has been very clear,” said Gianforte. “They were listed for a reason, they recovered, they need to be delisted. The data I’ve seen from the biologists was when the grizzly bear was listed, the recovery target number was 700 bears. Current estimates have us at around 1,300 bears. That’s almost double that target number.”

According to Montana FWP, grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) have long passed recovery objectives and expanding populations have increased conflicts with communities and landowners on the Rocky Mountain Front. Grizzly bears in the NCDE are still protected under the Endangered Species Act. Gov. Gianforte has petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist grizzly bears in the NCDE and turn their management over to the state. That petition was denied in January of this year by the previous administration. That administration also released proposed rule changes relating to the Endangered Species Act 4(d) rule that would give states some additional management tools. Those proposed rule changes have gone through public comments but the final version has not been released. As grizzly bear populations have increased in the NCDE, conflicts have also increased with farmers, ranchers, recreationists, and residents, making the need for additional management tools even more important.

Front Range County Farm Bureau and Lewis and Clark County Farm Bureau sponsored a reception where ranchers had the opportunity to share the challenges of trying to raise livestock in bear country.

“We live with grizzly bears 24/7 all year long. Bears come through our yard on a regular basis. We see them almost every day in the summer,” said Misti Redland who ranches with her family west of Choteau. “It is a big concern being able to protect our livelihood and our family.”

Redland found it reassuring that the governor and both the state and federal wildlife management agencies were listening. “It was encouraging to hear that there are people working for us to help solve this problem.”

MFBF District 9 Director Karl Christians, who attended the event, said, “The word for the meeting was promising. I’ve been at meetings before with the Fish & Wildlife Service, but I came away from this meeting feeling that our state and federal wildlife agencies have our interests at heart. It was eye-opening to hear the personal stories of what people who live here are up against. One rancher noted that she loses more than 15 calves each year to grizzly bears. Other people can’t even let their kids out in the yard in the summer. It’s important to push for delisting so the bears can be managed responsibly.”