FWP visits Trout Creek school program

TROUT CREEK – Children at the Trout Creek after school program at Trout Creek School were in for a special treat last week.

Wildlife biologist Bruce Sterling of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks District 1 region was on hand to share his expertise and knowledge with the young students assembled for the after school program.

In addition, Sterling brought with him an impressive variety of animal skulls, horns, antlers and pelts, which drew the attention and excited chatter of the young children in attendance.

Sterling has been quite accustomed to the fauna present in Sanders County after working for the FWP for 29 years in his capacity as a wildlife biologist

“My job is to manage all wildlife resources in the county,” Sterling said.

The scope of this job is magnified by the sheer size of Sanders County, which covers nearly 2,800 square miles of territory featuring vastly different ecosystems from the dry prairies in and around Hot Springs to the Riparian zones near the Idaho state line.

Throughout the course of his presentation to the students of Trout Creek, Sterling explained information on the types of animals that inhabit these different types of environments.

The FWP biologist started his presentation by showing off a raccoon skull and passing around a pelt of the creature to the eager and excited young individuals watching his presentation.

As the inquisitive students examined the pelt, Sterling explained how raccoons will eat nearly anything and were once not very common in the county.

However, according to Sterling, their populations have shown substantial growth over the past few decades and the medium-sized mammals can now be found throughout Sanders County.

After passing out a number of pelts from the weasel family and the fur of a bobcat, Sterling showed off the impressively large pelt of a mountain lion.

Sterling explained to the astonished students that a 150 pound mountain lion is quite capable of taking down an 800 pound elk.

“The number one predator in Montana is by far the Mountain Lion,” Sterling said.

The pelts which drew the biggest reaction from the kids were definitely the two bear pelts, which Sterling had on display for the students.

Sterling explained there are many more Black Bears in Sanders County than the larger Grizzly Bears estimating the Black Bear population to be around one per square mile throughout the county.

According to Stirling, the Grizzlies range from the area around Trout Creek up to the Bow River and number around 45 bears.

The FWP biologist explained there are many ways to distinguish between the two species of bear noting the strong shoulder muscles of the Grizzlies create a hump which the Black Bears do not have, though he noted black bears can posture themselves in a way where it seems they have a hump around their shoulders.

Sterling noted color is not a good indicator of distinguishing between the two species noting Black Bears can have brown, cinnamon and even blond fur, with colorations, which are extremely similar to those of the larger Grizzly Bears.

Sterling added despite their fearsome reputation a large portion of both species diets consists of grass and berries.

“Bears are omnivores. They eat almost anything they want to,” Sterling said.

The Trout Creek after-school program is titled the S.T.A.R program and features a number of events and activities for Trout Creek students.

S.T.A.R stands for Success Through Academics and Recreation and the program looks to provide the community’s youth with a number of engaging activities to help students experience different learning scenarios outside of the traditional class room environment.

Later this month the S.T.A.R. program will feature a fire safety class with Daniel Stevens on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m.

There will be a basketball game against Noxon on Oct. 21, a Zumba class with Megan Stevens on Oct. 22 and a family fun Halloween Carnival on Oct. 28.