Federal government approves BNSF’s grizzly conservation plan
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has approved a BNSF Railway plan that will provide funding for grizzly bear conservation in northwest Montana in return for a permit allowing it to “take” 19 of the federally protected animals over seven years.
The Habitat Conservation Plan approved by USFWS has been years in the making and comes after more than 60 bears were killed along the tracks in northwest Montana over the last 15 years. At the core of the plan is a collaboration between BNSF, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and Montana’s Outdoor Legacy Foundation.
BNSF, the largest freight railroad in the United States, will provide $2.9 million to hire seasonal FWP grizzly bear technicians, install monitoring equipment like radio collars and remote cameras, and clean up waste (most notably spilled grain) that attracts bears to the tracks.
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