Predator Damage management Workshop
November 2, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Pondera Shooting Sports Complex, 972 Granite Rd, Conrad, MT
With the grizzly bear numbers climbing and livestock predations reported to the Livestock Loss Board being the highest since the Department was instituted in 2009, ranchers are searching for relief.
Since reducing the number of grizzlies is not an option, the Marias River Livestock Association is partnering with USDA Wildlife Services and the Pondera Extension Office to bring the public some ways to perhaps deter livestock losses due to large predators, such as wolves and bears. On Nov. 2, 2015 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the MRLA will co-host a Predator Damage Management Workshop at the Pondera Shooting Sports Complex, 972 Granite Rd., Conrad. No Pre-registration or fee is required and anyone can attend as it is open to the public. At the door registration will start at 8 a.m. and the Workshop will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. Lunch and snacks will be provided by Marias River Livestock Association.
“Reports of bear conflicts have been filling the newspapers lately,” Valier rancher Trina Jo Bradley said. “People have been injured and killed, and livestock losses are incomprehensible. Unfortunately, the current bear management system is not working. It's time for us as ranchers, farmers, parents, and the public to take a stand and make sure our lives and livelihoods are not under constant threat.” Bradley was referring to the hiker that was killed and partially eaten in Yellowstone National Park, the woman from Kalispell that was injured in her home and later died at the hospital, and the most recent mauling of a young man in the Blackleaf.
