If you live and recreate in western Montana you will undoubtably be drawn into Grizzly conversations at some time. This great bear has been a topic of controversy since it was given federal protection back in the middle 70’s. Most of the conversations I’ve been privy too, take place with people who have little to no personal experience with the bears. These folks get most of their information from internet articles (like this one) that have an obvious bias. Although many articles are written with factual information, the bias they contain frequently distorts or misrepresents the facts in order to further the writers narrative. I’m certainly no expert, but because of personal experiences and what I love to do, I have developed a opinion that many times contradicts the internet experts.

I was born and raised in western Montana and spent most of my childhood recreating in grizzly country. This was a time when bears were considered a predator. Often when there was a human encounter, the bear was simply shot. Grizzly numbers had declined and a sighting was a rarity. With all the outings I spent in grizzly country as a youth, I never once had a close encounter.

I remember on a float trip out of Schafer meadows my father and I had stopped at an old elk hunting camp site to have lunch. This was before the advent of bear spray and because we were on a float trip we did not pack a firearm. While having lunch we were harassed by a bear. This bear had no fear of us and circled our campsite repeatedly. With no form of protection and a somewhat aggressive bear, we gathered up camp and headed downriver. This was my first experience with a nuisance type bear and illustrated to me the dangers when they become somewhat habituated to humans. 30 years later I was on a backpacking trip with my boys in the same area, and we encountered 3 grizzlies in one day. All 3 were good incidents where the bears moved on immediately posing no threat.

I’ve since had hundreds of miles and countless nights spent in grizzly country. I have had so many encounters it’s hard to remember them all. I have not had any that were threatening. All of my sightings have been on horseback which probably was a factor in the bears desire to move on. One observation that I feel quite comfortable stating as fact is, there are a significant number of grizzlies inhabiting the forests of western Montana.

Although my experiences have all been non-threatening encounters, many backcountry users have not been so fortunate. Each year we seem to have growing number of incidents involving a mauling or even death. It’s inevitable that these incidents will increase. The time has come for federal protection to be taken away from these great bears. Their numbers have increased to a point where they repeatedly vacate the forests. Numerous times they are spotted out on the plains to the east, areas that were once part of their native range. There are many opinions as to why these bears are out in the wheat fields, but the most logical is simply their elevated numbers. Grizzlies need room to roam and source of food, both easy to find out on the plains. Many argue against revoking the protection of the threatened and endangered species act. I do not know how many grizzlies would satisfy these peoples romantic notions of true wilderness in the west. I do know the human population will continue to grow. More homes will be built and more people will come. I wish this wouldn’t happen, but it is inevitable. The west is a beautiful place. Most of the newcomers will not have the knowledge of what it takes to live with bears and there will be more and more bear incidents. My argument for removal of protections for grizzlies has not been to advocate hunting or harming the bears. I believe the state of Montana is in the best position to manage and control the bear population. The state employs specialists that deal with bear incidents on a regular basis. Also state officials are more responsive to the needs of their electorate. The people of Montana will have a direct say in how the bears are managed in their state. This is the best way to ensure a safe environment for bears and people. The experts live here!

The pandemic chased many people out of populated cities of the U.S. and sent them seeking more rural areas of our country. Many areas of Montana were dealing with growth prior to corona, but this event exasperated an already changing population base. For those native to the state these changes can be very disturbing.

In the past Montana was a vacation destination for families wishing to enjoy nature in its finest. They came, they spent money, and they went home. With new technology and the ability to work remotely, they no longer go home. Instead they search for their own little bit of paradise right here. Many counties in Montana have had unprecedented population growth these last 2 years. This growth has been challenging for our communities to deal with, but the most distressing changes are happening in our rural landscape.

Montana historically has had numerous farms and cattle ranches. These ranches helped give this state the magical “step back in time” appeal that draws so many. Today though, these ranches get gobbled up by wealthy out of state investors. It’s easy to see the rational, as the ranch owners age and the next generation chooses not to continue with the family business, the inherently valuable ranches are sold off for enormous prices. Many of the buyers are not interested in a working ranch, but rather a private vacation retreat. Previously assessable properties for hunting, fishing or recreating are now off limits to the general public. One of the largest problems with this new wave of ranch owners is the loss of access to public land. This has been a growing issue across the west. Many thousands of acres of public lands are only accessible through private lands. Landowners have been shutting down that access for years now. Some have leased to outfitters, or outfitting themselves. Others are just shutting down all access through their property.

This population explosion has also resulted in a enormous increase in the use of front country recreation. Campgrounds have expanded and new areas have been created, but they do not seem to keep up with demand. As a result we are seeing some very distressing scenes on this pristine landscape. Close to our home there was a small primitive site where a handful of locals would camp and recreate along the Flathead River. This is not a developed site with parking spots, tables and fire pits, rather this is primitive camping where people pull in and park anywhere on the river bank. For the last couple of years this site has been inundated with newcomers. We have heard of as many as 70 units parked on the small gravel bar near the blankenship bridge. Consider the ramifications of this activity. All these vehicles parked on a high water area of the river, vehicles that are sometimes leaking fluids or other contamination that inevitably will be absorbed into the river as soon as a rain event occurs. In addition to the vehicle contamination, there are hundreds of people inhabiting this area now. All these people spreading their human waste throughout the shoreline. These situations are atrocious.an old bus repurposed for camping stuck trying to access a gravel bar

One of the most popular summer recreation activities is rafting the Flathead River. The river access sites are packed with enthusiastic floaters almost every summer day. In addition to the normal populace enjoying an outing on the river, you have numerous commercial outfitters offering raft trips. These businesses cater to the many tourists and newcomers to our state. Often in groups of six large rafts at a time, these groups create a continuous river parade coming down the river. Blue, green, yellow and red are the most often seen colors distinguishing the different commercial groups as their customers shriek with glee making their way through the white water. Members of our family enjoying a commercial rafting trip

The point of this writing is to question what is to be done to protect the most valuable resource in Montana, our public lands. Our government agencies are tasked with providing access to public lands and balancing use to prevent degradation. In so many instances these agencies (primarily the USFS) fall drastically short. The front country (areas accessable by vehicle) seems to be overwhelmed with activity. In my opinion the USFS needs to be proactive in addressing the use of these areas. These popular sites should be developed and maintained. This would allow for controlling the number of users and also would minimize contamination of the resource. Rather than allow for unlimited commercial use, the outfitters profiting from exploiting this resource should have their permit (usage) numbers capped. Outfitters provide a valuable service, but we have reached a point where the commercial aspect of this service is diminishing the appeal of this pristine river system.

Most of our activities take place in the backcountry. What I observe in these areas is equally disturbing. Our forests used to have a trail system in almost every drainage. Lack of funding for trail work has led to USFS focusing on primary routes into the backcountry and allowing secondary routes to become overgrown and impassable. With the increase of population comes an increase in backcountry use, so what we see is these primary routes getting enormous pressure. Rather than close or restrict access, our backcountry could be improved by the USFS putting additional emphasis on improving access to secondary trails. Also in many instances our public lands are completely inaccessible because of private ownership changes. In these situations our USFS should be in the forefront of the legal battle to maintain public access. Our public lands should be available for all who want to enjoy.

Although our landscape is becoming more populated, this country is still very beautiful. It’s up to us to keep it for our children to enjoy. Not to be locked out and not to be exploited by commercialism.