Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Idaho
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Idaho Project


Grizzly bear habitat modeling in the Bitterroot Mountains

August 2023 - May 2026


Personnel

Participating Agencies

  • Wilburforce Foundation

Grizzly bears from the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk Ecosystems are repopulating the Bitterroot area south of the Clark Fork River in Idaho and Montana with several confirmed sightings in recent years. We currently have no models of habitat quality for the area that could support land management and conservation decisions. Grizzly bear habitat modeling would provide important data in landscape connectivity of a threatened species and support ESA consultations on projects within the Bitterroot area of Idaho and Montana south of the Clark Fork River to the Salmon River. Our proposed project would model grizzly bear habitat in Idaho and Montana across sovereign Tribal Nations, portions of 6 National Forests, and about 10,000 mi2 of public land.

Presentations Presentation Date
Rice, N., D.E. Ausband, S. Picardi, and W. Kasworm. Habitat selection, connectivity, and translocations of inland continental grizzly bear populations. Poster. 2024 Annual meeting of The Wildlife Society, Coeur d' Alene, ID. 26 March 2024. March 2024