Christopher Servheen writes, "Science-based state wildlife management was replaced by legislation founded on anti-predator misinformation and emotion."
Mike Garrity writes, "The solution here is to better manage cattle grazing operations instead of trying to manage grizzly bears by killing every grizzly they see near a cow."
The issue of whether the U.S. Forest Service can amend longstanding protections for grizzly bear and bull trout habitat in Montana’s Flathead National Forest is before a Ninth Circuit panel.
The 2021 Montana Legislature passed several bills increasing the length of season, types and uses of traps, snares and hunting aids to kill wolves and black bears. Trappers can now use neck snares in addition to leg-hold and Conibar body-squeezing traps.
Conservationists are asking Montana's governor to veto a bill expanding ranchers' opportunities to kill grizzly bears once the species is removed from the Endangered Species List.
Missoula federal district Judge Dana Christensen ruled a permanent injunction was justified to delay the 56,000-acre Knotty Pine Project while a lawsuit against the Kootenai National Forest proceeds.
After a Missoula federal judge ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to aid grizzly bear recovery in the Bitterroot ecosystem, the Service has agreed to complete a new environmental study by October 2026.
Peg Brownlee writes, "Trophy hunters and trappers are pushing to change this status in order to take-down our magnificent bears for personal bragging rights."
As the threatened grizzly bear population grows, interactions with ranchers and cattle have prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to sign off on up to 72 bear kills over the next decade.