State ends funding of bear study

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials dropped a bombshell Tuesday - the state will discontinue its grizzly bear monitoring program in the Northern Continental Divide recovery area after this year, unless federal agencies contribute to the effort.

That decision was announced Tuesday afternoon in Choteau at a meeting of state and federal officials in charge of grizzly bear management and recovery in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem.

Jim Satterfield, Northwest Montana for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the department simply has run out of money to continue the program, which involves maintaining as many as 25 radio or GPS collars on female grizzly bears across the 6-million-acre recovery area.

"This is not a bluff," Satterfield said in an interview Tuesday. "Without federal partners, we're done with this project. We can't afford it."

Satterfield said the project leader, research biologist Rick Mace, told the panel that if the trend-monitoring project does not continue, there is "zero chance" for removing the Northern Continental Divide grizzly bear population from protection under the Endangered Species Act.

And that presents huge implications for work that has occurred.

Most notably, the trend-monitoring study is linked to an immense genetic population study led by U.S. Geological Survey scientist Kate Kendall. That study, which involved collecting thousands of bear-hair samples during summer 2004 for genetic analyses, will provide a "snapshot" population estimate.

The trend study is aimed at discerning a birth/mortality ratio over a period of several years.

"If you don't continue with this monitoring project, all her work is for naught," Satterfield said, referring to Kendall's population work.

He added that there can't even be a one-year interruption in the trend study without compromising its statistical validity.

A memo from Ken McDonald, Wildlife Division administrator, bluntly states that funds have been exhausted for the program, other than money to pay for Mace.

"The full monitoring effort requires approximately $250,000 per year," McDonald wrote. "I encourage the NCDE Committee to discuss this issue and possible solutions so that we can maintain this important effort."

Satterfield said committee members seemed to be previously aware that the state could not shoulder the study on its own, particularly when trend monitoring for the Yellowstone grizzly bear population - now proposed for delisting - was mostly paid for by federal funds.

"I think everybody understands what's at stake here," Satterfield said. The state "can continue to be a partner, but we need other partners, particularly federal partners."

Finding the money to continue the monitoring study will be carried out at "higher levels" than the NCDE committee, Satterfield predicted.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com