Alberta | North Fork Preservation Association

Montana will relocate some local sage grouse to Alberta in an effort to improve the population in both jurisdictions . . .

Montana will send dozens of sage grouse to the Canadian province of Alberta in a plan approved Thursday that faces opposition from some lawmakers who say the state should first look to bolster its own fragile population of the bird.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 3-1 to relocate 40 greater sage grouse hens this year across the border to Alberta, where an estimated 100 to 120 of the birds are left. The sage grouse in Alberta and Montana make up a transboundary population, and the program should result in healthier numbers on both sides of the border, officials said.

“We have worked hard with Alberta to get this to fruition,” Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission Chairman Dan Vermillion said. “It seems to be working up there, and Montana has a lot to benefit.”

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(Text and images shamelessly stolen from the latest Headwaters Montana newsletter. . .)

Leading Scientists to Talk about Griz,
Critters with Teeth, and Wet-and-Wild River Things

~ Please Join Us for an Informative Evening ~

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When: Monday, March 12, 2012, 7-9pm
Where: Grouse Mountain Lodge, 2 Fairway Dr., Whitefish
Cost: $10 suggested donation
Cash Bar / Seating Limited ~ come early!

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Headwaters Montana is co-sponsoring an important science forum on the ecological value of Waterton – Glacier International Peace Park and the importance of completing Waterton Park by expanding the park into British Columbia.

Three leading researchers will make presentation on transboundary grizzly bear populations, aquatics, fisheries, ungulates and predator wildlife species.

The three researchers will focus on recent scientific discoveries and insights made in the vicinity of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Dr. Richard Hauer is director of the recently formed Montana Institute on Ecosystems of the University of Montana, will speak about the biological richness of the transboundary Flathead River (aka the North Fork Flathead River), and make the case that the Flathead River system is one of the most ecologically intact rivers in the Lower 48.

Dr. Michael Proctor is the Principal Investigator for the Trans-Border Grizzly Bear Project based in British Columbia. Dr. Proctor recently published a ground-breaking study published in the Wildlife Monographs that documents the challenges facing grizzly bears in the transboundary region of the Rocky Mountains between Montana and British Columbia.

Dr. John Weaver is Senior Conservation Scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Dr. Weaver has published several monographs on the abundance and distribution of ungulates and carnivores in the transboundary Flathead Region. He recently released a third monograph titled, “ Conservation Value of Roadless Areas for Vulnerable Fish and Wildlife Species in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem.”

Headwaters Montana is co-sponsoring the event with Wildsight, National Parks Conservation Association, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, and Sierra Club BC.