Wind River Bear Institute Biologist, Jessica Reyes, and Director of the Wind River Karelian Bear Dog Partners, Carrie Hunt, with Wildlife K-9s “Joni” and “Mowgli” continued their work in the Bitterroot Grizzly Bear Recovery Ecosystem, Montana this summer with a focus on preparing communities for grizzly bear population expansion into the area. The Wildlife K-9 (WK9)/Handler Teams helped prevent and respond to human-bear conflicts (conflicts) on private and public lands with on-site assistance and worked to educate the public through Bitterroot Valley (BV) community and school presentations, as directed by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 2 (FWP) Bear Management Specialist, J. Jonkel. The project was funded through collaboration with multiple partners.
We conducted 19 Information, Education, and Outreach (IEO) public presentations for schools, communities, and Home-Owner Associations (HOAs), 2 U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Bitterroot National Forest (BNF) Campground Presentations; and 4 field trips with Corvallis, Victor and Stevensville High School students organized by Michele Dietrich (former Governor’s Grizzly Bear Advisory Council member). One of the presentations resulted in an entire HOA of 94 homes, the Kootenai Creek Village in Stevensville, MT, committing to be our first “Bear Aware HOA” in the BV! This HOA has experienced chronic conflicts with black bears accessing garbage, bird feeders and fruit trees near the Bitterroot drainage riparian corridors. We conducted a total of 73 on-site responses to conflict calls assigned by FWP Wardens & Bear Managers, for IEO and assistance in securing bear attractants on private lands in the BV. We also assisted FWP in responding to reports of possible grizzly bear sightings in the BV by conducting site investigating with WK9s to find and verify evidence of grizzly bear activity.
As part of our scope of work this year, we assisted FWP’s new Bitterroot Bear Technician, Bruce Montgomery transition into his new role. We introduced Montgomery to the communities and partners we have been assisting, and helped him follow up on resource needs identified through our work in 2021. We trained the USFS BNF campground hosts how to report bear activity quickly and accurately, and how to educate campers on Bear Awareness, including secure storage of bear attractants and how to interpret bear behavior and respond accordingly. We continued to patrol BNF campgrounds, day use picnic areas, and trailheads, talking to visitors about recreating safely in bear country. We completed 9 presentations on Homeowner Bear Awareness at local schools, community centers, retirement centers, and events to teach people about the ways in which bears learn “bad behaviors” from obtaining human-associated foods and how that can lead to bears to entering barns and garages. We completed 1 campground presentation on the BNF to teach people about how bears can learn to enter tents and campground areas from obtaining human-associated foods at picnic areas and campgrounds. We hosted booths at 4 Bear Awareness events to teach kids and adults about how we use WK9s and other tools to assist BV communities reduce conflicts and how to live and recreate responsibly and safely in bear country. We distributed 9 Bear-resistant Kodiak brand, 95 gallon curbside garbage containers to our neighbors on East Carlton Creek Road in an effort to reduce future conflicts with black and grizzly bears active in the northern BV. We will continue to assist FWP Bear Managers and Wardens as conflict incidents continue to increase into the fall season.
Author: Jessica Reyes, Program Biologist, Wind River Bear Institute with WK9 “Joni
A big THANK YOU to our Project Supporters: Defenders of Wildlife, Vital Ground, American Bear Foundation, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, US Forest Service, International Association for Bear Research and Management, and the Missoula Conservation District!
