Commissioners receive quarterly wildlife update

Update on relocated grizzly bears, black bear euthanized in Trout Creek

THOMPSON FALLS – Bears were the main discussion at the quarterly wildlife meeting with the Sanders County Commissioners.

Wayne Kasworm, grizzly bear research biologist of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, provided commissioners with an update on two small female grizzlies that were relocated to the Cabinet Mountains on June 20. The bears, sisters who both weighed approximately 100 pounds each, were released above Spar Lake in the Kootenai National Forest. The two-year old bears were captured in the Flathead National Forest in Deadhorse Creek in the Whitefish Range.

The bonds of sibling love were broken despite the belief the bears would remain a duo.

“The intent was since they were sisters and we let them go together that maybe they would stay together,” Kasworm said. “That probably lasted about 12 hours and they went in two different directions.”

At the time of the meeting, one of the bears was in the main Cabinets in the wilderness and was last in a drainage called Bear Creek. The other grizzly has had little movement and has stayed in the North Fork of Ross Creek, a little above Spar Lake.

The bears were relocated in an ongoing effort to help boost and recover grizzly bear populations in the Cabinet Mountains. The program is a cooperative effort between US Fish and Wildlife Service and Fish Wildlife and Parks.

In recent years, two other bears were released previously, one last year and one two years ago, both of which are still wearing radio collars. One bear has made the main Cabinets its home, while the other one was last recorded on the Idaho, Montana border.

Including the release of the two sister grizzlies, 13 bears have been released in the Cabinet Mountains since 2005.

No more augmentation efforts will take place this year.

“Our goal has always been to move two bears – a male and a female. This year we ended up with two females and we are done for this year,” Kasworm explained. “Obviously there are some folks that think two is too much and some people think that two is not enough….we’re trying to do a middle of the road, slow, but steady approach.”

Another grizzly was captured a few days after the grizzlies were released. The native bear was captured in the head of Libby and was seen with three cubs, believed to be two years old. The bear is now wearing a radio collar so experts can monitor her movement.

Although grizzly bear sightings are not entirely uncommon, Bear Management Specialist Kim Annis said so far they have experienced no problems in the area.

“I’ve had a number of grizzly bear sightings when hiking or out grazing somewhere,” Annis explained. “Nothing management wise that would be of any concern.”

Black bears have also caused little problems in the area, as Annis said it has been a quiet spring and summer.

Although problems have been scarce, the year has not been without conflicts that resulted in action.

One black bear had to be euthanized after he broke into a garage in Trout Creek. The bear ripped a window out and in a separate incident climbed over a porch. The behavior was associated with an incident where numerous bears in the area became habituated to eating at a particular location where scraps were discarded.

Between three and five bears were seen feeding at the site. Although the site was not a place where initial feeding occurred, byproducts of a business were tossed out in a field and there was no attempt to stop the behavior even after bears had made it one of their favorite locations to obtain food.

“That bear may have not been created had none of that initial stuff went on,” Annis explained, stating the euthanized bear had become a threat.

No food was located in the garage the bear broke into; however, the bear ate several light bulbs and tried to open the freezer and the fridge.

According to Wildlife Biologist Bruce Sterling, the bear had become habituated to the smell of humans and connected the house with a good source of finding food. Annis explained that probably happened because the bear was used to people watching it eat out of the field.

“We want to get the message out to the community that if you see things like that, people having things out that bears are very clearly eating on, to let us know so we can help stop those things before they get out of hand,” Annis said.

She also stated that FWP has materials and resources to help people stay bear-proof, including free garbage cans that are bear resistant.