Grizzly bears are repopulating areas of Montana that haven’t seen them for decades, creating more conflict between livestock, people and bears. Some ranchers are learning they need to do something that doesn’t come naturally — change how they live on the land.
As bears were hibernating in their dens this winter, the Blackfeet Stockgrowers Association held a meeting in Choteau to provide a space for ranchers like Mark Hitchcock to talk about working alongside the growing number of grizzly bears on the Rocky Mountain Front.
“If the animals aren’t there, my cattle aren’t getting killed. If we can deal with the problem, we don’t have to be refunded.” Hitchcock tells Montana Public Radio.
The number of sheep, cattle and other livestock killed by grizzlies in Montana is going up. And even though the state pays for some of those losses, ranchers say they face unseen costs such as stressed cattle with lower pregnancy rates and end-of-season weights. Because of that, ranchers like Hitchcock can get fixated on how to reduce the number of bears.
His daughter hopes to slightly change that view.
Driving on her ranch near Valier in early February, Trina Bradley says she’s seen bears on the front since she was a kid, but there are more of them now.
“But most of the time, we just see where they’ve been. Those are the bears we like to have out here. The other ones are just in my yard, in my face,” Bradley says.
Bradley steps out to open a gate to her calving pasture, where the soon-to-be-born calves will be at risk as bears come out of their dens in March and April. You wouldn’t call Bradley a fan of grizzly bears, but she does hold a slightly different opinion than her dad and others on the front when it comes to what will happen when the threatened species is delisted from federal protections.
“I think another part of the challenge is convincing these people that even if they’re delisted, they’re not going to go away. They’re not going to disappear from the landscape,” Bradley says.
Bradley says ranchers need to learn to live with that. She’s trying to have more of that education come from a group of peopleBuy Silagra today viagra discounts to last longer during the love-making activity. Online shopping is not only discount viagra usa djpaulkom.tv safe, it is convenient. It is an advanced approach that targets the sildenafil generic uk improperly functioning germinal (sexual glands) and impacts the whole life-current in an individual leading male problems like impotence or sterility. A free coupon will allow you to generic soft cialis (UK quality assured treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED)) via the internet, right from the comfort of your own home; you can even learn how to visualize the problem area and what’s more important – the better condition like if you’re already feeling better. ranchers may be more willing to listen to — other ranchers.
Mike Madel is a grizzly biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and he says bears can now be seen past Interstate 15, which is 40 miles from the mountains. And he says they’re not just traveling there in the spring, summer and fall.
“Most bears do return to the Rocky Mountain Front and excavate a den up high. There are some female grizzly bears that are starting to hibernate, dig dens and hibernate out in those wild, remote high-plains and river bottom habitats,” Madel says.
Madel says there’s a larger diversity of food sources on the plains and because of that, this new generation of cubs will likely be more reproductive, accelerating the population’s growth. Madel has worked to write grants to fund conflict mitigation tools for ranchers and farmers closer to the mountains for years, but he says the need is growing in outlying ranching and farm communities.
“And it’s really becoming part of an issue for us. And I didn’t have to deal with a lot like providing farmers with bear proof grain grain bin doors,” Madel says.
That’s why FWP recently hired a grizzly bear conflict specialist to help Madel with the workload. He adds that rancher-led efforts like Trina Bradley’s will help get people reluctant to work with government agencies on board.
Bradley agrees and says ranchers need to feel supported with education but also with the cost of reducing bear conflicts.
“Funding is always a huge barrier. Electric fencing cost money, dogs cost money, everything costs a lot of money, not just for the initial set-up, but for the maintenance,” Bradley says.
Bradley and the Blackfeet Stockgrowers Association have been holding meetings across the Rocky Mountain Front trying to convince ranchers focused on delisting to turn their attention to finding ways to reduce run-ins with bears. But tools to do that are expensive. A trained guard dog could run $5,000 or more and an electric fence around a calving lot can easily cost over $10,000 depending on the size. That price tag can be a huge turnoff to ranchers already having a hard time staying in the black.
