Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Two young adult grizzly bears euthanized in the Lincoln-area were quickly earning a reputation for getting into food-related conflicts. Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Vivica Crowser says the trouble started in late August. Bears are even more food-focused than normal heading into autumn this year.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks released new details about a bear attack near Columbia Falls that left a woman with serious injuries. Evidence at the scene revealed the bear was a grizzly sow traveling with at least one cub-of-the-year.

The search is on for a bear in the Columbia Falls-area that attacked a woman Monday. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and U.S. Forest Service investigators say a woman who was walking her dog sustained significant injuries following the attack.

Northwest Montana has a below-average huckleberry crop this year. That means bears are now looking for alternative food sources and getting into trouble as a result.

Forecasters say a high-pressure system will continue to send smoke from wildfires in Oregon and Washington for the foreseeable future. Montana's mule deer population is on an upswing, according to survey results released by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks.

Veterans Affairs appoints a new director for Montana, and a large conservation easement is proposed in Central Montana.

Knapweed and leafy spurge don't have many fans in these parts. Nobody makes the drive from Texas to pose with them and post the photos on Instagram. Invasive species aren't usually something to celebrate, because they can wreak havoc on native ecosystems in ways impossible to undo. But other invaders have gotten a much warmer welcome. One listener wonders why some non-native species – like brown trout and rainbows – are so valued in Montana.

Mountain goat populations have been on the decline in Montana for 70 years. Researchers are working to learn more about the nimble climbers, which means going where the goats go – and that's easier said than done. But no mountain is too high, no weather too extreme to stop us from answering this week's question: What happened to the mountain goat population in the Bitterroot Mountains?

Local and tribal governments will now get an advanced notice before state wildlife officials relocate bears into their area, under a new state law that went into effect this week.

The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome among bats has been detected in northwest Montana. This is the first time the fungus has been detected west of the Continental Divide in the state.