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Grizzly bear managers in Montana last week said their top goal is to remove Endangered Species Act protections from the bruins and transition to managing a delisted population. A recommendation to delist bears in and around Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks could come in early 2024.
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Montana’s Fish and Wildlife Commission meets this week to pass hunting regulations for big game species and to finalize rule changes in anticipation of a grizzly bear delisting. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and the state will receive about $9 million to bolster the number of wildlife crossings.
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A proposed ballot initiative debated by state lawmakers this week could expand hunting access for non-tribal people owning land on reservations.
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Following a court-mandated deadline this week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed wolverines as a “threatened” species. Conservation groups have been calling for that protection since the early 2000s.
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A federal court shortened Montana’s wolf trapping by over two months. The ruling aims to protect grizzlies.
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West Central Montana’s hunting season wrapped up Sunday with a slightly lower-than-normal elk harvest.
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Five Montana tribes have collectively been awarded over $5 million by the Environmental Protection Agency to improve recycling on their reservations. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) said chronic wasting disease was detected in a mule deer buck harvested near Deer Lodge last week.
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A new threat to native trout was detected in the Bitterroot River for the first time last summer. Smallmouth bass are a non-native species which prey on young native species like trout and whitefish.
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News briefs: A trout population study, noise pollution inside Glacier National Park, UM wins discrimination case.
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A multiyear project to restore a portion of central Montana’s Judith River is complete. Project collaborators hope the work will boost stream health and support the trout and insects that rely on the cold-water stream.