Montana News Roundup: A New Push on Grizzlies + a “Super Bear”

Senator Steve Daines and his Congressional colleagues from here in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, are appealing to the new leaders of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reverse a controversial ruling earlier this year that would change the way the agency counts grizzly bears. 

The agency decided in the closing weeks of the Biden Administration to no longer tabulate bears in some specific recovery areas, treating the grizzly recovery over a broader area. 

Daines, along with other members of the delegations from the three states, complain that "punishes" the "successful" recovery efforts that have seen grizzly populations climb rapidly over the past decade.

The Congressmen say the policy will "severely damage trust" in listings under the Endangered Species Act. 

     -They want the new leadership of USFWS to review the policy, with the idea of de-listing the bear populations and turning over management to the three states. 

READ MORE: Feds Approve Railroad Plan to Save Grizzlies

"Stronger Than Your Average Bear"

The grizzly Yellowstone National Park rangers had to put down this week may be one of the most determined bears we've heard of in recent years, overturning "bear resistant" dumpsters twice his weight in the search for something to eat.

     -The 11-year old grizzly weighed 400 pounds, but was capable of overturning 800 pound dumpsters around Old Faithful and the Midway Geyser Basin.

🗑️ The park says the bear also uprooted smaller bear-resistant trash cans from their concrete bases to gain access to human food and garbage.

As a result, the bear became increasingly food-conditioned and posed a risk to public safety in one of the busiest areas of the park. The decision to kill the bear was made to ensure public safety and reduce the chances of other bears becoming habituated to human food.

Charges, and Debate in Helicopter Antler Case

Those three National Guardsmen who reportedly landed on private ranch land in the Crazy Mountain foothills to snag some elk antlers are now being cited for trespassing. 

As we told you earlier this week, the three are accused of landing on the ranch with their helicopter, as reported by the Big Timber Pioneer.

Now, Michael Bray of Helena, Deni Draper of Clancy, and Perry Woodland of Great Falls are facing charges in Sweet Grass County. Reporter Dan Astin, who broke the story in the Pioneer, tells us the case has stirred community debate.

"There's pretty strong feelings on either side," Astin told Aaron Flint on "Montana Talks" this week. "A lot of people feel that these guys are just some good old boys, and they should be let off the hook. The rest of these people feel that these people should be held accountable."

Bray, who was the pilot, is also charged with landing the helicopter. 

Anger at Rapper's Yellowstone Stunt

🎤 A California rapper is getting some hate for walking right up the lip of a Yellowstone geyser, vape in hand, and posting it on the 'Net.

    -But people online are roasting him, saying it's not only dangerous it's "disrespectful" to everyone who works to protect the park.

Montana Friday Fact

     -The longest bridge in Montana is a little hard to find.

The Koocanusa Bridge west of Eureka is 2437 feet long, and provides critical access to Amish communities on the west side of the lake, as well as providing a secondary route into the Yaak Valley.

It's also the highest, crossing 270 feet above Lake Koocanusa, the reservoir filled just over 50 years ago.