The State of Montana's grizzly bear management program uses hunting as one tool among many in 

 promoting the long-term conservation of the grizzly bear. Any regulated public hunt must therefore be 

 evaluated in the context of the enHre bear management program and its efforts to promote management 

 and ongoing recovery of this species. Harvest recommendations and/or programs will be conservatively 

 applied, and only after the best available scientific data indicate that the population can sustain a 

 predetermined level of take. Moreover, all mortalities from hunting will be counted against mortality 

 limits and hunting of females with young will not be allowed. 



It is important to make the distinction between regulated removal and the unregulated mortalities that 

 occurred in the past. Unregulated hunting can, and often does, lead to dramatic population declines. 

 Such was the case at the turn of the 20* century when bears were persecuted and killed without 

 provocation, license, limit, or season, and in excessive numbers. Current managed and regulated hunting 

 programs can, however, promote population increases and recovery for all species. Hunting mortalities 

 can be directed at areas with high human-bear conflicts and thereby reduce bear numbers and conflicts in 

 such peripheral areas. Furthermore, wildlife populations typically produce surplus individuals and off- 

 take quotas are frequently developed in such a way that the population still increases. In designing a 

 regulated harvest program, Montana also recognizes that managing wildlife populations that range 

 across jurisdictional boundaries is challenging, but especially so when different management goals are 

 identified on either side of a boundary. In order to avoid excessive mortalities, FWP will work closely 

 with surrounding states and provinces and incorporate data from these regions when determining 

 harvest quotas. 



FWP recognizes that hunting impacts populaHon composition in different ways and will institute 

 regulations to afford greater protection to the female segment of the population. In central Alaska, for 

 example, females constituted 18% of the spring season hunter kill prior to May 1, but more than 40% of 

 the harvest after the third week in May. In the fall, females represented 537<) of the kill during the first 

 week of September, but less than 43% of the kill during October. Thus, in early spring, hunters primarily 

 kill males because they are the first to emerge from dens, while females accompanied by newborn cubs 

 are the last to emerge from dens. Similarly, males are the last to enter dens in the fall, and late fall season 

 hunts typically harvest a higher proportion of males. By instituting strict timing and season regulations, 

 male bears would be more vulnerable to hunters than female bears. Furthermore, males tend to range 

 more widely and as a consequence are more likely to encounter areas frequented by hunters. 



Additional safeguards could also be implemented. In Alaska and Canada, regulations prohibit shooting 

 females accompanied by young-of-year or yearling offspring, which also contributes to a male bias in 

 hunter harvests. In the Yukon, a point system is used that provides incentives for outfitters to avoid 

 harvesting females. Distinguishing between males and females is aided by the likelihood that females 

 will usually be accompanied by offspring and males may be exceptionally large. In addition, there are 

 training videos available to assist in educating hunters on the differences between male and female 

 grizzly bears. In Montana, by using season timing and protective regulations for females with young, 

 FWP was similarly able to focus harvests on males during its legal hunt. 



Finally, regulated wildlife harvest is one factor that has allowed the recovery and maintenance of 

 predator and prey populations in Montana and elsewhere. While funding will be generated through 

 license fees, FWP strongly believes that regulated harvest of predators builds tolerance by those most 

 negatively impacted by their presence. In addition, persons who participate in regulated hunting often 

 play a pivotal role in maintaining the prey populations that predators are dependent upon. It is therefore 

 intended that regulated harvest of grizzly bears be a part of Montana's program and commitment to 



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