Habitat Guidelines for Grizzly Bears Currently in Place in Western Montana 



Management direction, standards, and guidelines for the grizzly bear in western Montana are currently 

 found in numerous documents. Standards, guidelines, and other direction contained therein are currently 

 being applied in various geographic areas and under various land ownership and administration 

 throughout western Montana. These guidelines, incorporating current habitat security attributes, and 

 plans represent the best management practices for planning and implementing multiple use activities 

 within certain portions of western Montana and have led to the expansion of the grizzly bear population. 

 These plans will be used as the basis for coordinating multiple use activities or developing regional 

 grizzly management plans into the future. 



Many of the planning documents are subject to amendments and/or undergo periodic formal reviews and 

 revisions. These processes allow the plans to incorporate most recent information and scientific findings. 

 If amendments or revisions of the plans occur, such changes should not compromise the intent of the 

 guidelines as they now exist to conserve grizzly bear habitat security. A summary of these plan 

 guidelines can be found in Appendix G. 



Alternatives Considered 



1. Expand the higher level of habitat restrictions ami proj^rams currently in place, or which will be agreed to, for 

 the recover]! zone to bear-occupied areas outside the recoi'ery zone. 



Ongoing expansion of bears outside the NCDE recovery zone shows that this approach is not 

 necessary. Furthermore, it would not generate social acceptance for the bear and its further recovery. 

 Incorporating the grizzly as another component of FWPs ongoing programs for all wildlife is a more 

 productive approach. In addition, the approach outlined in this plan does allow FWP to modify the 

 program, if necessary, and adapt the program in the future as more is learned. 



2. Bear specific trail and road restrictions need to be dealt with prior to re-occupation. 



This approach would result in unnecessary impact to user groups without clear evidence of a 

 problem. FWPs efforts on this issue are intended to build higher levels of social acceptance across 

 user groups while still providing the necessary mechanisms to respond should problems occur. 



C. POPULATION MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT 



Quantitative data on grizzly bear abundance, distribution, survival and mortality are critical to 

 formulating successful management strategies and decisions. Moreover, this information is necessary to 

 evaluate the recovery process. FWPs preferred approach will therefore focus on developing a science- 

 based population monitoring program that provides the information necessary to successfully manage 

 bears in western Montana. Accordingly: 



> FWP will conduct monitoring research in cooperation with other entities to obtain more detailed 

 demographic and population trend information where needed. 



> Monitoring will be coordinated with other states and provinces and information collected as part of a 

 cooperative effort that will be presented in annual reports. 



> Capture and immobilization of grizzly bears for population monitoring will be undertaken with 

 veterinary input and will utilize best available scientific knowledge. 



> This effort will be conducted by, and coordinated between FWP staff including the veterinarian, 

 wildlife biologists and bear management specialists, with assistance from the IGBC. 



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