Federal government approves BNSF’s grizzly conservation plan

Federal government approves BNSF’s grizzly conservation plan

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has approved a BNSF Railway plan that will provide funding for grizzly bear conservation in northwest Montana in return for a permit allowing it to “take” 19 of the federally protected animals over seven years. The Habitat Conservation Plan approved by USFWS has been years in the making and comes after more than 60 bears were killed along the tracks in northwest Montana over the last 15 years. At the core of the …

Fish And Wildlife Service, BNSF Railway Reach Plan To Reduce Grizzly-Train Collisions

A plan has been developed in a bid to reduce grizzly-train collisions in Montana near Glacier National Park/NPS fileGrizzly-train collisions that have killed 75 bears between 1975 and 2023 have led to a plan aimed at reducing the deaths, some of which have occurred on the doorstep to Glacier National Park in Montana.The BNSF Railway Co. operates 206 miles of railway in key grizzly habitat known as the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE)…

Feds approve plan for railway to reduce grizzly killings - Western Environmental Law Center

Wildlife conservation groups are cautiously optimistic about a new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service habitat conservation plan and incidental take permit covering BNSF Railway Company trains on 206 miles of track through grizzly bear habitat in the Northern Continental Divide (NCDE) recovery zone in Montana. Trains operated by BNSF or on its tracks caused deaths of 75 grizzlies between 1975 and 2023. After trains killed three grizzlies in 2023, the…