Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 12 - FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PARKS › Chapter 12.9 - WILDLIFE DIVISION › Subchapter 12.9.14 - Grizzly Bear Management › Rule 12.9.1403 - GRIZZLY BEAR DEMOGRAPHIC OBJECTIVES FOR THE NORTHERN CONTINENTAL DIVIDE ECOSYSTEM

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) Upon delisting
				from the Endangered Species Act, management of the grizzly bear and its habitat
				in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) will be guided by the
				Conservation Strategy for Grizzly Bears in the Northern Continental Divide
				Ecosystem (NCDE Conservation Strategy). The department and federal land
				management agencies will endorse and commit themselves to the NCDE Conservation
				Strategy by entering into a memorandum of understanding detailing their
				agreement to implement it. The department will be a signatory to the
				implementation memorandum.
(2) The
				department and the commission shall, within their lawful authority to do so,
				maintain the recovered status of the grizzly bear in the NCDE by implementing
				interagency cooperation, population and habitat management and monitoring, and
				other provisions of the NCDE Conservation Strategy in accordance with the
				responsibilities described therein.
(3) As described in the NCDE Conservation
				Strategy, the commission adopts the following demographic objectives. The
				department shall:
(a) maintain a
				well-distributed grizzly bear population within the demographic monitoring area
				as described in the NCDE Conservation Strategy and maintain the documented
				presence of females with offspring in at least 21 of 23 bear management units
				of the primary conservation area and in at least six of seven occupancy units
				of Zone 1 at least every six years. Adherence to this objective will be
				evaluated by monitoring the presence of females with offspring (cubs,
				yearlings, or 2-year-olds) within defined geographic units of the
				NCDE;
(b) manage mortalities from
				all sources, including hunting and the loss of grizzly bears by translocation
				out of the NCDE, to support an estimated probability of at least 90% that the
				grizzly bear population within the demographic monitoring area remains above
				800 bears, considering the uncertainty associated with all of the demographic
				parameter and further manage mortality against a 6-year running average within
				the following threshold objectives:
(i)
				maintain estimated annual survival rate of independent females within the
				demographic monitoring area of at least 90% and a rate at or above the minimum
				level consistent with a projected probability of at least 90% that the
				population within the demographic monitoring area will remain above 800 bears
				based on population modeling;
(ii)
				limit annual estimated number of total reported and unreported mortalities of
				independent females within the demographic monitoring area to a number that is
				no more than 10% of the number of independent females estimated within the
				demographic monitoring area based on population modeling and a number that is
				at or below the maximum level consistent with a projected probability of at
				least 90% that the population within the demographic monitoring area will
				remain above 800 bears based on population modeling; and
(iii) limit annual estimated number of total
				reported and unreported mortalities of independent males within the demographic
				monitoring area to a number that is no more than 15% of the number of
				independent males estimated within the demographic monitoring area based on
				population modeling;
(c)
				monitor demographic and genetic connectivity among populations by the following
				means:
(i) estimating spatial distribution of
				the NCDE grizzly bear population biennially; and
(ii) identifying the population of origin for
				individuals sampled inside and outside of the demographic monitoring area to
				detect movements of individuals to and from other populations or recovery
				areas.