To move or not to move: Grizzly translocation plan under fire from bear defenders

Just as Montana, Idaho and Wyoming politicians prepared to sign a three-state agreement on grizzly bear management, grizzly protection advocates sent a warning they plan to sue over a crucial part of the states’ plan.

They don’t like the idea of trucking grizzlies from one recovery area to another as a solution to the bears’ genetic diversity.

Grizzly bears remain a threatened species under federal Endangered Species Act protection. State wildlife officials say the bears are recovered and should be turned over to local state management.

Grizzly defenders counter that will open the door for trophy hunting and unsustainable predator shooting. It would also put grizzlies in conflict with a different kind of advocate – black bear hunters.

On this episode, Rob Chaney, Lee Montana's statewide enterprise editor and author of 'Grizzly in the Driveway' makes sense of recent grizzly bear related headlines.

Montana Untamed, hosted by Thom Bridge, covers the state's rugged landscape from hook and bullet to policy and science.