The need for this western plan was precipitated by changes in bear management in Montana during the 

 1980-90s, resulting in increasing numbers and expanding distribution of grizzly bears in western 

 Montana. Current approaches to land management, wildlife management, and recreation within the 

 NCDE appear to be providing the conditions needed to establish a population of bears outside the 

 recovery zone. Recovery to date in the Cabinet-Yaak area has however been slow and tenuous at best, 

 and recovery has yet to begin in the Bitterroot ecosystem. In principle, it is FWPs objective to maintain 

 existing renewable resource management and recreational use where possible and to develop a process 

 whereby FWP, working with local publics, can respond to demonstrated problems with appropriate 

 management changes. By maintaining existing uses, which allow people to continue their lifestyles, 

 economies, and feelings of well being, this approach builds support and increases tolerance for an 

 expanding grizzly bear population. 



Along these same lines, the Governors' Roundtable in southwestern Montana produced a 

 recommendation to allow grizzly bears to inhabit areas that are "biologically suitable and socially 

 acceptable." The level of social acceptance of grizzlies in historic habitat varies, depending on how issues 

 are approached, and how much faith people have in management being responsible and responsive. To 

 maximize the area of Montana that is "socially acceptable" grizzly bear range, the state planning and 

 management effort for western Montana will employ adaptive management strategies to develop 

 innovative, on-the-ground management. By demonstrating that grizzly bear conservation can be 

 integrated with broader social goals, public faith in management can be enhanced and human tolerance 

 of grizzly bears increased. Such an approach has already demonstrated success in northwestern Montana 

 along the Rockv Mountain Front, where bear populations have increased and bears have reoccupied 

 habitats from which they had been absent for decades. By employing such an approach, this document 

 provides a strategy for initiating, implementing, and learning from a set of localized efforts. 



This process will entail developing a set of strategies on a relatively small scale of Ranger Districts, 

 Conservation Districts, valleys or watersheds. FWP, other agencies, local citizens, and interest 

 organizations would cooperatively design local strategies tailored to local conditions. These strategies 

 would include monitoring provisions that would require management adaptations as conditions dictate 

 or change. Ultimately, all parties would collectively learn from these localized efforts. This should result 

 in developing a basis of knowledge for replicating efforts elsewhere and incorporating successes in the 

 statewide management of the grizzly bear and other species. The underlying basis for this approach is 

 that as bears reoccupy areas from which they have been absent for decades, there are many issues that 

 can't be anticipated or predicted with accuracy. Consequently, this approach allows FWP to adjust the 

 program as necessary. 



Localized efforts have many advantages. For example: 



• They tend to generate productive, focused soludons. 



• They provide low-conflict settings for trying out innovative ideas. 



• They have tremendous local importance that can help increase political support (e.g. showing 

 that ranchers can and do get along with grizzlies builds support for the agricultural community 

 and for the benefits they provide to the rest of society). 



An adaptive management approach is flexible and iterative in nature, and produces tangible results. In 

 fact, innovative grizzly conservation efforts are already underway in Montana and we can make use of 

 the lessons already available. This approach will be described in more detail in the local management 



