The Changing Face of Bear Management in Montana

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The average bear covers a lot of territory to gather the 10-20,000 calories a day it requires. Today a bear’s search for natural foods often puts it on private land and in contact with humans.

“The fact is that today many of us are choosing to live where bears have lived for centuries. The bears aren’t “coming in” from somewhere to trouble us—this is their traditional habitat and they have nowhere else to go,” said Jamie Jonkel, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear management specialist. “Relocating a bear generally only puts it in new territory not far from someone else’s residence. And, the bears inevitably try to return to their home territory.”

Jonkel said relocation is becoming a futile pattern for bears and people in more populated areas of the state located in prime bear habitat. He recommends instead that people learn safe and effective ways to share the habitat with bears.

Community volunteers in Seeley Lake, in the heart of Montana’s bear country, are one group taking on that challenge by forming a group called “Bear Aware.”

“We’re using the Bear Smart model that is successful in Canada,” said Patty Bartlett, a member of the Seeley Lake group. “British Columbia developed the program to help reduce the millions of dollars they spend handling bear complaints.”

Montana bear management specialist Jonkel and grizzly bear specialist Tom Radandt of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Missoula, are helping the Seeley Lake Bear Aware   volunteers to identify and fix existing “hot spots” that could attract bears.

They plan to work with neighbors to remove bird feeders or encircle them with electric fence, and to install bear proof dumpsters at the elementary schools. In addition, businesses are volunteering to take in downtown garbage receptacles overnight to prevent a bear’s access to garbage.

A “Bear Fair” is planned for August 21 that will feature a clean “bear proof” camp and a day of events and educational activities to increase the community’s awareness of how to live with black and grizzly bears.

“We’re also working with Bear Aware volunteers on ways to integrate the needs of bears into community planning and decision-making when it makes sense,” Jonkel said. For example, planting fruit trees in a public park in Seeley Lake would not be a good choice because the trees would draw bears into the downtown area.

“Bears and other wildlife are a big part of why we like living in Montana,” said Bartlett. “We are committed to making Seeley Lake a place where we can live safely with bears and where bears aren’t getting into trouble or being destroyed.”

For information on living with bears or starting a “Bear Aware” group, contact your local FWP bear management specialist, or Jamie Jonkel at 406-542-5508.