The Endangered Species Act turns 50 this December. The law has given federal protection to nearly 2,000 animals and plants. Some of the ESA’s biggest struggles have happened in Montana, including fights over gray wolves, grizzly bears, bull trout and sage grouse. As the law reaches its 50-year anniversary, a group of Lee Montana reporters scanned the state to see how it’s working and what its future holds.
Here's a collection of photos from the project:
Erin Fenger, conflict prevention specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park, throws old cattle bones into a dump trailer on a ranch outside Valier, Mont. in Sept. 2023. Montana FWP’s prairie bear team routinely picks up bone pits and carcasses from ranches to prevent grizzly bear attraction to the operations.
Henry Becker, pets Zia, an anatolian shepherd, on the Stickleg Ranch outside Conrad, Mont. in Sept. 2023.
Range rider Sigrid Olson rides her horse Jake on public land in search of cattle outside Potomac, Mont. in Oct. 2023.
Range rider Sigrid Olson rides her horse Jake on public land in search of cattle outside Potomac, Mont., in October 2023.
Range rider Sigrid Olson rides her horse Jake on public land in search of cattle outside Potomac, Mont. in Oct. 2023.
A major aspect of Sigrid Olson’s job as a range riding is documenting the condition of cattle on the range and signs of predators in the area. She produces a report from her notes that she shares with producers and wildlife agencies.
Range rider Sigrid Olson poses for a portrait after a day of range riding outside Potomac, Mont. in Oct. 2023.
Range rider Sigrid Olson loosens the saddle on her horse Jake after a day of range riding outside Potomac, Mont. in Oct. 2023.
Kristina Harkins of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks walks down a hillside near Ambrose Creek northeast of Stevensville after using a radio receiver to locate sharp-tailed grouse on Nov. 16. Harkins is a field coordinator for FWP's effort to reintroduce the species west of the Continental Divide, where they haven't been seen for decades.
Harkins uses a handheld radio antenna to listen for collared sharp-tailed grouse near the MPG Ranch in the northern Bitterroot Valley on Nov. 16.
Kristina Harkins, in the driver seat of an FWP truck near the MPG Ranch Nov. 16, listens for signals from radio-collared sharp-tailed grouse using an omnidirectional antenna mounted atop the truck cab.
Male sharp-tailed grouse dance on a lek in early morning light in spring 2023.
An estimated 300 wolverines prowl the snowy elevations of the Rocky Mountains in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and parts of Washington, Utah and Colorado. Their hard-to-find nature has challenged the ability of biologists to confirm wolverines' population in the Lower 48 states.
A wolverine triggers a remote camera in the Helena National Forest. The elusive carnivore depends on deep snow for breeding and scavenging food. Climate change and habitat fragmentation have made it a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act on its 50th anniversary.
Staff from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks re-introduced Arctic grayling in French Creek in the Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area in early October 2023. The fish have genetic ties to river-dwelling Arctic grayling in the Big Hole River. French Creek is a tributary to the river.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks Fisheries Biologist Jim Olsen, right, and Region Three Supervisor Marina Yoshioka hold buckets for transporting Arctic grayling during a repopulation project on French Creek on Oct. 2 in the Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area.
Fish, Wildlife & Parks fisheries technician Lance Breen releases Arctic grayling into French Creek during a repopulation project in the fall of 2023 in the Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area near Anaconda.
Fluvial Arctic Grayling
Fluvial Arctic Grayling
It's unusual to see Park Service personnel, or anyone, in Yellowstone National Park carrying a weapon. But this summer a crew used an air rifle to shoot darts to collect DNA samples from bison. The sampling is a small part of the work being conducted as the animals are considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Bison close up in a snow storm in Yellowstone National Park.
Bison herd with calves in Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park.
A herd of bison in Yellowstone National Park.
A bison cow and calf walk in the road in Yellowstone National Park.
A herd of bison move through the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park.
Cow and calf run through the sage in Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park.
The ancient bison, Bison antiquus, was taller, had longer horns, and was 25% more massive than living American bison (Bison bison). It was roughly 7.5 feet tall and 15 feet long, weighing approximately 3,500 pounds. Bison had bone horn cores on their skull that served as a base for a longer horn made of keratin, the protein that makes up our fingernails. The span of the horns of Bison antiquus was approximately 3 feet.
Wesley Sarmento, prairie bear specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, left, talks with Jennie and Seth Becker on the Stickleg Ranch outside Conrad, Mont. in Sept. 2023.
Guard dogs and range riders have protected people against bears for millennia. They may offer solutions for co-existing with grizzlies as the recovered trouble-maker of the West nears ESA delisting.
Getting Yellowstone National Park bison protected under the ESA might break "the stranglehold Montana has placed on recovering wild bison." But those aren't the only bison.
A century ago, we stocked non-native trout throughout national parks. Now native species like cutthroat trout must be transplanted in experimental habitats if they're to survive through this decade.
“The Endangered Species Act only protects that relatively small number of species that are right on the precipice of disappearing."
Since it was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, the ESA has protected more than 2,000 animals and plants, becoming one of Earth’s most far-reaching laws.
Would Arctic grayling in the Big Hole River benefit from federal protections afforded by being listed as an endangered or threatened species under the ESA? Some stakeholders don't think so.
On the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, the law grapples with political uncertainty and unforeseen ecological challenges. Read our series here.
An 11-foot, 750-pound alligator with "numerous health-related issues" was seized Wednesday from a Hamburg, New York, home, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said Thursday.
Authorities found dead animals scattered about a couple's property in Beaverhead County, Montana, and the living animals were malnourished.
Adding to 907F’s mystique and popularity with tourists, for almost half her life she has suffered from either an injury or infection that appears to have left her blind in one eye.
Otter, Molly, Finn and Obi are more than just a cuteness overload; their rare births help boost a critically endangered species.
Endangered Species Act protection for grizzlies could end or be revised by January under a new FWS plan in response to demands by Montana, Idaho and Wyoming leaders.
It turns out an “injured” bald eagle didn’t need to be nursed back to health, Missouri officials say, as the bird was simply suffering from success.
