Decision Notice for Fence replacement to improve wildlife movement in grassland habitat

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) recently distributed a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) detailing proposed management actions to target fencing that impedes wildlife movements for removal and replacement with wildlife friendly fencing in Rosebud County.

The purpose of the proposed action is to remove up to 45 miles of fencing in Rosebud County that is acting as a barrier to wildlife movement and replace it with wildlife friendly fence. This will be accomplished by working with landowners, utilizing recent telemetry data from collared pronghorn, and funds obtained through a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant. By using GPS locations from the ongoing Pronghorn Movement and Population Ecology Study and local knowledge, FWP will be able to identify and target specific locations of fences that are impeding pronghorn and other wildlife movements to have the greatest impact possible.

Montana FWP is required by the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) to assess potential impacts of a proposed action to the human environment.  In compliance with MEPA, an EA was completed for the proposed project by FWP and released for public comment on July 8, 2022. Public comments on the proposed action were taken for 15 days.  In consideration of the above facts and the public support received, it is our decision to approve the proposed action to work with landowners and current GPS data from collared pronghorn to identify and remove up to 45 miles of fence and replace it with wildlife friendly fencing in Rosebud County through the proposed actions.

The EA wll be now be considered final.  The complete Decision Notice can be viewed here.