Agencies prep for summer field season

THOMPSON FALLS – The Sanders County Commissioners had a busy schedule last Tuesday, holding several meetings throughout the day.  

One of the meetings held by the commissioners was the wildlife meeting with a representative from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wayne Kasworm, of USFWS went over the state of local grizzly bear populations with the commissioners.

Specifically Kasworm discussed the bear population in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem. The ecosystem includes portions of western Sanders County, including areas around Heron and Noxon.

Kasworm noted the ecosystem is split into two areas, the Cabinets and the Yaak River.

Grizzly bears were listed as a threatened species in Montana and other states in which they inhabit, excluding Alaska, in 1975.

Kasworm explained the bears were then listed as endangered as of the early 1990s.

In the Cabinet Mountains area it was estimated there were 15 bears or fewer at this point in time.

“We found the population likely wouldn’t susatain itself without any help so the augmentation program began,” Kasworm said.

Kasworm explained there are two categories under the federal Endangered Species act, threatened and endangered, with endangered meaning the population was more at risk than if the population was listed as threatened.

In 2012 another study on the Cabinet’s population was conducted by the United States Geological Survey and found their had been improvements and there was likely 22-23 bears in the region.

“We went from fewer than 15 to a population that is 22-23 bears,” Kasworm said.

According to Kasworm, in the combined Cabinet and Yaak River areas the population now sits at 45-48 bears.

Kasworm continued they don’t have an exact figure because the aforementioned total accounts for bears that live in the recovery area year round and the individual bears who travel outside its boundaries, many to the Canadian province of Alberta.

Additionally, In 2014 the FWS determined grizzly bear populations were showing signs of imporvement.

“In 2014 when we did our finding again we basically said things have improved here, a lot of the threats have been addressed, we know think the endangered status is no longer warranted, we now think threatened is where it should be and where it should stay,” Kasworm said.

However, Kasworm was quick to note the bears would remain listed as threatened.

“We are going to leave them as threatened. We have a ways to go but at least they are on an upward trend,” Kasworm said.

Kasworm then went over the plans for the upcoming field season with the county commissioners.

He added two female bears were transferred into the Cabinet-Yaak wilderness last year; the bears were sisters and about two years old.

Kasworm noted he was hoping to move one or maybe two bears into the wilderness area this coming summer.

One of the main ways the FWS and MT FWP monitor bear populations involves rub trees, where wires snag hair and help researchers determine bear activity in a given area.

“We are continuing as many of the rub trees as we can. I don’t have the personnel or the ability to go to all of them,” Kasworm said.

Kasworm stated there are nearly 1,200 sights where bears rub that are fitted with wires throughout the ecosystem.