Grizzly trapped and moved on Rocky Mt. Front

(AUGUSTA)- Agents with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks have trapped and relocated a bear that killed a calf near Augusta, moving the bear a few dozen miles away.

KRTV reports the adult female grizzly was trapped on a map southwest of Augusta and was in very poor condition. Biologists believe she'd had a litter recently, but was no on her own. They aren't sure why she killed the calf. 

Because it's the first time the bear had caused problems, FWP decided to just move her about 45-miles away to the Blackfeet Wildlife management area. 

Opinions divided over preserving Rocky Mountain Front lands

KRTV photo by Marnee Banks(CHOTEAU)- Even the people who live along the Rocky Mountain Front aren't sure what should be done to preserve, and yet use, one of the most scenic places in all of Montana.

Those differences of opinion were evident Saturday evening as hundreds turned out for a listening session on the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act. Senator Max Baucus has proposed the measure, which would extend protection to 70,000 acres as wilderness, with an additional 200,000 acres set aside as for conservation.

KRTV reports people from all over the Front came to the session to tell Rehberg of their support, and their fears about the new measure. Much of that concern is focused on continued cattle grazing, closing roads and yet also the pressures the region could face from future oil and gas development. 

Rehberg says he hasn't made up his mind whether to support or oppose the Legislation, which is still in the early stages of consideration in the Senate. 

Air Force could use explosives, or backfill to remove missile silos on the Front

Crews work on a missile inside a silo in this Malmstrom file photo- USAF photo(CHOTEAU)- Air Force officials say they might use explosives to implode missile silos along the Rocky Mountain Front. Or, the agency could opt to simply use "backfill" to close down the once important military sites.

Those were the two processes explained to residents at a public meeting in Choteau Monday night. 

The silos, and their control facilities are scattered across the countryside outside Great Falls and were once part of the 564th Missile Squadron at the Malmstrom Air Force Base. However, the squadron was deactivated five years ago and work has continued to dispose of the 50-missile sites assigned to the group. Under the most recent START treaty, remaining missiles and launch sites must be deactivated by 2018.

The Great Falls Tribune says the plans call for closing the sites by either "explosive implosion", similar to the process used to dismantle buildings, or "backfill" where the site is simply filled with material and the above-ground facilities removed. 

Additional meetings to discuss the closure plans were scheduled in Conrad Tuesday night, Great Falls on Wednesday and Shelby on Tuesday. 

Texas company looking for oil on famed Rocky Mt Front ranch

Aerial view of the oil drilling on the Roosevelt Ranch near Dupuyer- GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE photo by Rion Sanders(DUPUYER)- A Texas company is back looking for oil on the 6,600-acre Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch on the Rocky Mountain Front, exercising the mineral rights it obtained before the Boone and Crockett Club took over the property.

The Great Falls Tribune reports Houston-based Fairways Exploration and Production had obtained the mineral rights before the conservation group purchased the land in the mid-80s. Initially drilling took place in 1982 without results, but now the company is back with new technology has part of the renewed wave of interest in oil and gas resources along the Front. 

The Boone and Crockett Club, which is based in Missoula, doesn't control what can be done under the surface. But staff members are hopeful they might be able to use any oil development as a way of showing how that might co-exist with the organization's conservation efforts, if the company finds marketable reserves. 

Read more on the story from the Great Falls Tribune. 

New fire burning fast along Rocky Mt Front

Puzzle fire Saturday- USFS photo(HEART BUTTE)- A new fire burning in the mountains about 20-miles southwest of Heart Butte has already burned over 400-acres.

The Puzzle Fire was discovered Friday, apparently started by a recent lightning strike. The Forest Service says the fire is burning south of Bullshoe Mountain, towards Puzzle Creek. That’s an area just east of the Continental Divide, set back from the Rocky Mountain Front roughly 10-miles south of U.S. 2 and Marias Pass.

The fire is actively burning through heavy timber with dead and down snags and grew about 200-acres from mid-day Saturday to Saturday evening. It’s size has now been mapped at 409 acres.

Firefighters from the Rocky Mountain Ranger District of Lewis and Clark National Forest have already moved into the area and are repairing the area radio system for communications and building a long-term response plan to protect any backcountry cabins, bridges or other structures that could be eventually threatened. Maps show the initial site of the fire to be fairly isolated.

The upper Sklyand Road #569 and Puzzle Creek Road #569G are closed to the public, including ATV traffic.