Gravelly Range Closure: Grizzlies

[RobG]

Grizzlies force closure in the Gravelly Range

U.S. Forest Service officials have closed an area in the Gravelly Range due to a high concentration of grizzly bears roaming around.

www.bozemandailychronicle.com

From the article:

U.S. Forest Service officials have closed an area in the Gravelly Range due to a high concentration of grizzly bears roaming around.

The closures are in the Lobo Mesa and Teepee Creek areas about 50 miles south of Ennis. A map of the exact closures can be found at the Lobo Mesa Trailhead, but it includes Forest Service trails 6405 and 6422.

The U.S. Forest Service closed the trails because grizzlies have been attracted to the area by cow carcasses.

 

[RobG]

 

[Southern Elk]

That's a new one. Never heard of a closure for dead cows.

 

[Oak]

Why are there cow carcasses on NF lands in the area?

 

[RobG]

Why are there cow carcasses on NF lands in the area?

According to our esteemed State Rep Kerry White they feed the wolves and bears. This takes pressure off the elk.

 

[----]

Why are there cow carcasses on NF lands in the area?

Larkspur.

 

[Carnage2011]

Why are there cow carcasses on NF lands in the area?

In that range I’d say could have been poison, wolves, or bears. Cows die all the time on those allotments.

 

[Sytes]

Larkspur.

I was curious about this as well and what Randy shared is the same as shared;

The bears are being attracted by nine dead cows that ate larkspur, a native, purple flower that is poisonous to cattle, said Morgan Jacobson, information and education program manager for Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

 

[onpoint]

That's a new one. Never heard of a closure for dead cows.

Nope, it ain't.

 

[Scrappy]

I've seen several roads closed in that area due to grizz eating cow carcass

 

[onpoint]

Why are there cow carcasses on NF lands in the area?

The sheep on the allotment up there enjoy the bovine company.

 

[RobG]

I was curious about this as well and what Randy shared is the same as shared;

Where did you get the info on the cause of death?

It is funny that if one of your horses die in the sticks you can be charged the cost of removing it, but not so for cows. Hmmm, I guess that isn’t funny. They should make the owners pump the cows full of dynamite and blow them up.

 

[Carnage2011]

Where did you get the info on the cause of death?

It is funny that if one of your horses die in the sticks you can be charged the cost of removing it, but not so for cows. Hmmm, I guess that isn’t funny. They should make the owners pump the cows full of dynamite and blow them up.

Animals die in the mountains all the time. Do we have to go blow up elk, deer, or moose that winter kill too?

 

[RobG]

Animals die in the mountains all the time. Do we have to go blow up elk, deer, or moose that winter kill too?

No, but they don't have to close down national forests because of dead elk, deer, or moose because they aren't so stupid they don't know what to eat.

I believe if you lose a horse on FS land you are responsible for having it removed so it doesn't attract bears, etc. At least that is how it used to be. A few years ago a guy got mauled in Island Park by a grizzly guarding a dead cow. Discount grazing should come with some responsibility to clean up the mess you make.

 

[Sytes]

Where did you get the info on the cause of death?

Chowing-down grizzlies close Teepee Creek and Lobo Mesa areas in Gravellys

A popular hunting spot in the Gravelly Mountain Range in the Madison District of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest has been closed indefinitely due to a high number of grizzly bears

mtstandard.com

 

[Carnage2011]

No, but they don't have to close down national forests because of dead elk, deer, or moose because they aren't so stupid they don't know what to eat.

I believe if you lose a horse on FS land you are responsible for having it removed so it doesn't attract bears, etc. At least that is how it used to be. A few years ago a guy got mauled in Island Park by a grizzly guarding a dead cow. Discount grazing should come with some responsibility to clean up the mess you make.

So cows are dumb because some of them eat plants that may or may not kill them??? Feed elk straight alfalfa in the winter and let me know how that goes. I guarantee they will eat it if it’s available and some of them will die, but not all, just like cattle. There’s no reason to cleanup dead livestock. That sounds like nothing more than someone looking for a reason to disagree with the policies on public land grazing. If your issue is the cost of public land grazing then that’s a different topic.

I’m not sure what the legalities are with horses, but I can tell you that many of them die in the Wilderness every year and get shot and left. I don’t know if that’s legal, but I know it’s 100% true.

 

[JLS]

Pretty sure the biggest issue with horses and mules dying is when it’s on or in very close proximity to a maintained trail.

 

[Hem]

No, but they don't have to close down national forests because of dead elk, deer, or moose because they aren't so stupid they don't know what to eat.

I believe if you lose a horse on FS land you are responsible for having it removed so it doesn't attract bears, etc. At least that is how it used to be. A few years ago a guy got mauled in Island Park by a grizzly guarding a dead cow. Discount grazing should come with some responsibility to clean up the mess you make.

Took a hike up to Lake Louise in July,.warnings at the trailhead informing people of a dead horse by the lake and potential bear activity. Of course no specific info on exactly where the carcass was. Wtf?
It had only been a week so I'm guessing said horse was about to get very ripe. No effort to remove it.

 

[dwatling]

I thought the grizz was an endangered species and the population wasn't high enough? If it's so endangered there can't be that many bears to justify a closure. Unless the entire population is in this area.

 

[RobG]

Took a hike up to Lake Louise in July,.warnings at the trailhead informing people of a dead horse by the lake and potential bear activity. Of course no specific info on exactly where the carcass was. Wtf?
It had only been a week so I'm guessing said horse was about to get very ripe. No effort to remove it.

Yeah, I guess the owners were supposed to remove it but weren't up to the job, then the Forest Service couldn't find it or something. I think Lawnboy saw it up there.

I misspoke JLS... I'm sure you can leave a dead horse far off trail... stuff happens (my father lost three through the years). But if negligence results in enough livestock dying to close down a section of Forest I have no problem asking the owners to clean up their mess or pay someone else to do it.

Carnage, you sound like you need some sleep, it's just the internet.