Coexistence Toolkits a Popular Program

By Kim Johnston

As snow is beginning to fall around Montana valleys, bears are remaining active and preparing for winter hibernation. Bears typically den anywhere from mid-November to mid-December. Despite wintery conditions, it’s important for rural residents and backcountry recreationists to remain bear aware and to secure any potential bear attractants. Hunters in particular should expect grizzly activity anywhere in Western Montana and be prepared for bear encounters.

Other fall activities entail a need for conflict prevention. Livestock weaning season is underway around valley communities and can often attract the attention of predators, making fall a time of year to be extra vigilant not only in the backcountry but on ranches with active operations. Increasing human activity and using simple tools can reduce the risk for conflict. At People and Carnivores, we loan out conflict prevention tool kits in Western Montana that are effective for short term prevention during weaning and other conflict risk activities. Tool kits include scare devices like randomly strobing Foxlights, motion alarms, and an outdoor radio, in addition to some other resources. Having multiple tools allows ranchers to be adaptive in a variety of situations. For example, placing strobing Foxlights around a pasture, and leaving a radio on near an outbuilding, barn, or piece of farming equipment gives the appearance of human activity in the area and can temporarily deter large carnivores like wolves and bears. Rotating the location of the devices can prevent animals from getting used to the light or sound and can prolong effectiveness. Last winter, we loaned out multiple scare devices in Southwestern Montana to deter wolf activity and successfully prevented conflicts. 

In addition to scare devices, tool kits include a trail camera for monitoring and additional resources and information on long-term prevention including low-stress livestock handling, the use of livestock guardian dogs and animals, and bear safety information including an inert bear spray training canister. Tools kits can also be used to deter bear activity near houses or cabins. Thanks to P&C’s supporters, community members located in certain Western Montana locations can borrow the tool kits for 6-8 weeks at a time. Email us at info@peopleandcarnivores.org or call (406)587-3389 if you’d like to learn more.