Federal Government Provides $5 Million in Grants to Reduce Human-Grizzly Bear Conflicts

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks received nearly $5 million from the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The money will expand existing programs aimed at reducing conflicts between grizzly bears and landowners. Programs such as electric fencing, carcass removal, bear-resistant containers and the use of riders—people on horses who closely follow herds of livestock—to deter bears.

All of these programs are part of a collaborative partnership between state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations and landowner groups to better address growing grizzly bear populations and their impacts on rural communities.

This funding will be combined with another federal grant totaling $12 million to support cost sharing among landowners interested in using these non-lethal methods.

FWP is partnering with the nonprofit Heart of the Rockies Initiative to host community workshops throughout western Montana this winter and spring to provide this money to landowners.