Two grizzlies released in Cabinet Mountains
Two young female grizzly bears were relocated to the Cabinet Mountains on Thursday as part of the grizzly bear population augmentation program.
Fish, Wildlife & Parks captured the two-year-old bears in the Whitefish range of the Flathead National Forest. The 100-pound bears had not experienced human conflict prior to the capture as they live in an isolated area. The bears were released west of Spar Lake in the Kootenai National Forest.
With the joint effort from Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, bears are captured in backcountry areas of the Northern continental divide and reintroduced in the Cabinet Mountains. All grizzlies are monitored using global positioning technology to track the bear’s movements. The collars are designed to track the bears for a period of time and then eventually fall off the bear’s neck.
The program has a goal to create a self-sustaining grizzly bear population in the Cabinet Mountain area,totaling 100 grizzly bears. The Cabinet Mountain ecosystem has the lowest grizzly bear population of the lower 48 states.
This ecosystem is a large area that includes the Yaak River Valley and a portion of eastern Idaho. The untouched land provides an ideal habitat for grizzly bears that were once nearly wiped out by human development and hunting.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear management specialist, Kim Annis, said the program began in the mid 80s. Researchers conducted several searches for grizzly bears in the Cabinet Mountains and turned up with only three bears.
“Without Wayne’s research and without the augmentation program we probably would have lost the entire population in this area,” Annis said.
Grizzly bear research biologist, Wayne Kasworm, released the 2014 spring ecosystem report with information regarding current tracking efforts. Along with the newly released pair, seven adult, female bears are being tracked. One female had six cubs while another was killed in early June.
Female grizzlies were favorable in the beginning of the reintroduction with 11 females and four males introduced since 1990. Due to observed inbreeding, males are now being emphasized to prevent future problems.
Annis believes the grizzly population is not yet self-sustaining in the Cabinet Mountains with only 45-50 bears recorded.
In 1993, Fish, Wildlife & Parks released a female grizzly in the Cabinets on an experimental trial. Many years later, researchers found the bear was the matriarch of an entire new family of bears.
Grizzly family lines are traced through extensive studies of the bear’s hair that can be found on snags and rub trees in the forest.
Annis said after tracking the success of the experimental releases, the augmentation program was reinstituted in 2005.
The relocation of the two young female grizzly bears marks the twelfth and thirteenth grizzly bears to be released into the Cabinet Mountains as part of the population augmentation program since being re-instituted.
County Commissioner Tony Berget said he would like to see the bears reach a self-sufficient level in order to reduce the number of lawsuits that are grizzly bear related. While Berget supports the reintroduction, he feels as though there may be some flaws with the projected goals.
“We would love to see the population recover,” Berget said. “I just don’t think the Yaak and the Kootenai lands can support 100 bears.”
According to Kasworm’s report, the bears that were released on Thursday were expected to remain together; however, the bears have already separated and gone different directions. There is a chance the bears will regroup in the future and tracking methods will determine that outcome.
Kasworm’s report also stated capture efforts are ongoing in the Yaak and Cabinet Mountain portion of the recovery area and in the Selkirk Mountains in Idaho is expected to continue through the summer.