Bear expert hired for Yaak area
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has hired a grizzly bear management specialist for the Cabinet-Yaak bear recovery area.
Kim Annis, an experienced bear management specialist, was hired for the new position, which is funded by Revett Minerals, a Spokane-based company that operates the Troy Mine and owns the proposed Rock Creek mine in the southern Cabinet Mountains.
Annis will be based out of Libby and will start work next week.
The job was modeled after the successful bear management work of Tim Manley, the state's bear management specialist in the Flathead Valley area.
Jim Williams, the state's regional wildlife manager, said a bear specialist has been sorely needed in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem, where the federal government estimates there are fewer than 40 grizzly bears remaining.
"This position is needed to work with the private property owners, mine staff, county government and others to reduce bear conflicts," Williams said. "The position will be responsible for capture and handling of conflict bears."
Williams said future bear conflicts in the Cabinet-Yaak recovery area should be reported directly to Annis at 293-4161.
Funding for the position is part of a long-term package of provisions aimed at offsetting the environmental impacts of the controversial copper and silver mine at Rock Creek.
"While others talk about recovery efforts, Revett is stepping up to the plate to provide much-needed funding for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to help carry out the overall grizzly bear recovery program," said Bill Orchow, Revett's president and chief executive officer. "The $250,000 provided by Revett will allow FWP to hire a wildlife conflict specialist now and a law enforcement officer later."
Orchow said the mitigation package will involve more than $20 million in current dollars that will be distributed over a 30-year period if the mine becomes operational.
The mitigation package includes land purchases to serve as replacement habitat for the area directly impacted by mine development.
Orchow said Revett recently purchased 273 acres of land near the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness that will be permanently set aside from development once mining gets under way. Revett is committed to eventually securing 2,450 acres of bear habitat.
The Rock Creek Mine has gone through a series of permitting and litigation hurdles.
Most recently, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy determined that a federal biological opinion for the project was "arbitrary and capricious" in concluding that the mine would not jeopardize the remaining population of grizzly bears in the southern Cabinet Mountains.
Last October, Molloy ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider the biological opinion, a process that is still under way.
The order came in response to a lawsuit from several environmental groups. Some grizzly bear advocates contend that Revett's mitigation efforts will not compensate for the long-term impacts that the mine would present for the Cabinet grizzly bear population.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com