Montana FWP Director Talks About ‘Translocating’ Grizzly Bears

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Dustin Temple appeared on the Tuesday KGVO Talk Back show to discuss the successful translocation of two grizzly bears out of Montana to Wyoming.

Through a special partnership between Montana Governor Greg Gianforte and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, Temple described how the project moved forward.

It's Not Just a Transfer It's a 'Translocation' of Grizzly Bears

“Grizzly bears have been listed under the Endangered Species Act for 40 years or so, and Montana has been at the forefront of that recovery throughout that time,” began Temple. “We have two recovered populations in Montana: the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, which is wholly within Montana, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which is Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. The translocation of two grizzly bears, both caught in the North Fork of the Flathead from the NCDE, and we moved those bears. One of them moved to the Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming. One moved to Yellowstone Park on the south end of Yellowstone Lake.”

Temple explained the science behind the transfers.

They're Introducing Some Diversity Into the Ecosystem

“The reason that's important, and why it matters is that the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been genetically isolated for 100 years or so, and these translocations introduce some diversity from the Northern Continental Divide population, which has a little higher genetic diversity than the Greater Yellowstone. It puts two individuals from that population into the Greater Yellowstone. Hopefully, those two individuals will reproduce and add some genetic diversity to the Greater Yellowstone.”

Temple said sometimes Mother Nature just needs a little push to get things started.

READ MORE: MONTANA FWP EXPLAINS PROPER BOATING ETIQUETTE

FWP is 'Giving Mother Nature a Head Start' on Connecting the Populations

“This is Montana giving nature a head start, if you will, on connectivity between those two populations,” he said. “Those two populations are expanding. They're moving closer all the time, and at some point, there will be natural movement between those two populations, which is something we very much want to see. But this translocation just gives nature a little bit of a head start, and gives us a way to monitor these bears, see how they're doing, and confirm that we've got individuals from one population into another.”

The translocations are part of a three-state agreement between Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.

Click here to listen to the entire conversation with FWP Director Temple.