In an effort to provide more insight to bear management and to keep local landowners and communities aware when black bears or grizzly bears are relocated, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks published a new online Bear Relocation Dashboard. This page displays general relocations on an interactive map. FWP relocates bears for a variety of reasons, and the interactive features allow users to click to see information about the relocation including the species of bear, general reason and the date of latest relocation.
FWP will continue posting relocation information on its website as it has done for years. The Bear Relocation Dashboard augments that information. The agency also has a Grizzly Bear Mortality Dashboard and Grizzly Bear Conflict Dashboard.
“These tools are useful for the public to understand what’s happening with bears around the state,” said FWP Director Christy Clark. “The expansion of grizzly bears, both in numbers and distribution, has a real impact on the lives of Montanans across bear country. Keeping people informed about what FWP is doing with bears continues to be a top priority.”
The new dashboards help keep the public informed and provide insight into the reason that bear conflict occurs along with the tools FWP uses to help landowners and communities reduce conflicts.
Grizzly bears remain federally protected in the Lower 48 under the Endangered Species Act. This protection remains despite populations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) growing well past recovery goals. Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to delist grizzly bears.
FWP is required by law to inform the county and tribal government within 24 hours of which the grizzly bear or black bear is to be relocated. Grizzly bears can be relocated by FWP only to sites approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission. Under state law, grizzly bears that cause conflicts outside of designated recovery zones cannot be relocated by FWP staff. The dashboard reflects only those bears relocated by FWP.
