5. ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES FOR FUTURE MANAGEMENT 



BY AREA 



The document to this point has described specific aspects of the Department's grizzly bear management 

 program that are common across the state and relate to day-to-day management of the species. The 

 purpose of this section is to discuss a variety of alternatives for future direction for populations within 

 each recovery zone and the surrounding area and identify and discuss possible changes in program 

 direction as well as to indicate the Department's preferred approach. It also evaluates the significance of 

 any potential impacts associated with implementing this DPEIS and management tools used to mitigate 

 negative impacts. 



While there have been significant successes in some recovery zones, notably the Northern Continental 

 Divide, recovery in the Cabinet- Yaak recovery zone has been slow and tenuous. Moreover, recovery 

 programs in the Bitterroot have not been implemented. This section will present various approaches to 

 possible future direction and the benefits and challenges of those approaches. It is FWPs opinion that 

 new and or innovative approaches would be helpful to speed recovery in the Cabinet-Yaak and Bitterroot 

 as well as securing successes in the Northern Continental Divide. Further, FWP believes that by 

 continuing to foster cooperative working relationships with federal and state agencies, provincial and 

 tribal governments as well as local organizations, successful conservation and management of grizzly 

 bears throughout western Montana can be achieved. 



Cabinet-Yaak Recovery Zone and Surrounding Areas 



The current CY recovery zone encompasses about 2,600 mi= of northwest Montana and northern Idaho 

 (see Figure 2). It is bordered to the north by the Canadian border, to the south by the Clark Fork River 

 and Montana Highway 200, to the west by the towns of Moyie Springs and Clark Fork, and to the east by 

 the town of Libbv. The CYE is bisected bv the Kootenai River. 



The Cabinet Mountains account for approximately 58% of the CY recovery zone and lie south of the 

 Kootenai River, while the Yaak River borders Canadian grizzly populations to the north. Two 7.5 mile 

 wide linkage zones link the Yaak with the Cabinet Mountains. Approximately 90% of the recovery zone 

 is on public land administered by the Kootenai, Lolo, and Panhandle National Forests. Plum Creek 

 Timber Company Inc. is the main corporation holding a significant amount of land in the area. 

 Individual ownership exists primarily along the major rivers, and there are numerous patented mining 

 claims along the Cabinet Mountains. Wilderness encompasses 237 mi- of the higher elevations in the 

 Cabinet Mountains. Libby, Troy, Tlnompson Falls, Noxon, and Trout Creek are the primary communities 

 adjacent to the East Cabinet Mountains. 



The CYE is often described in terms of having two portions. The Cabinet Mountains portion forms the 

 southern half of the CYE and is topographically diverse, with a steep mountain range up to 8,700 feet 

 near the center and more definable seasonal habitats. The Cabinet Mountains Wilderness area is 

 approximately 34 miles long, varies from 0.5 to 7 miles wide and consists of higher elevation habitat. A 

 valley of private land including the towns of Libby and Troy dissects the northern Cabinet Mountains. 

 The southern Cabinet Mountains are therefore connected to the Yaak to the north by 2 relatively narrow 

 corridors of habitat. The Yaak portion of the ecosystem has gentler topography and slightly lower 

 elevations, up to 7,700 feet. Seasonal grizzly bear habitats are not as clearlv definable but are connected 

 to British Columbia bear populations. 



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