SPRING IN BEAR COUNTRY
If you care, leave them there! With spring approaching comes warmer weather
and new life to the Flathead Indian Reservation. As wildlife in our area begin their
new families, people are more likely to encounter their young. When people find
these animals alone, they think they have been abandoned, and that is generally
not the case!
Young wildlife are rarely abandoned, more often the mother is only gone
temporarily or is staying a short distance away to avoid attracting attention to her
young. According Program Manager for the CSKT Wildlife Management
Program, Kari Kingery, “Ninety percent of all deer are born the last couple of
weeks of May and into the first week of June. This is called predator swamping,
with all deer born at the same time; this gives them a better chance for survival.”
During this time of year, the Wildlife Management program also receives many
phone calls and reports on birds, especially concerning owls, who have fallen
from their nest. Parents will continue to feed their young on the ground, and
fallen chicks will often climb back into the tree if given time and space. Because
of this, we ask that you leave them be.
Remember that it is illegal to possess or harbor wildlife! Live big game,
furbearing animals, and birds are protected and cannot be possessed without a
proper permit.
If you observe injured wildlife, please contact the CSKT Wildlife Conflict Hotline
at (406) 275-2774. For additional questions, please
As weather gets warmer and wildlife return to the valley, there will be a
noticeable increase in preventable human-bear conflicts occurring within the
Flathead Indian Reservation. The Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribal Wildlife
Management Program wants to remind residents that bears will be seeking easily
available sources of food. While unsecured garbage is the #1 cause of black-
bear conflicts, there are other easily-overlooked attractants that could be drawing
bears into your yard or on your porch. Including but not limited to: pet food, bird
feeders, livestock feed, grain, fruit trees, outside fridges or freezers, and
uncleaned barbecue grills.
Bears can quickly become food-conditioned, causing them to act too familiar
near residential homes and human dwellings and leading to bears to seek out
human sources of food, rather than eating natural foods. This behavior ultimately
leads to bears being lethally removed from the population because of these
interactions with unsecured human food and waste.
Bear resistant garbage cans are one of the easiest ways to prevent bears from
getting a free meal. For Flathead Reservation residents who self-haul their
garbage to container sites, we offer Kodiak Bear Resistant Garbage Cans for
lease with a one-time payment of $20. We are now allowing households to lease
2 Kodiak cans in 2026 if there is an expressed need! If Republic Services or
Grizzly Disposal picks up your trash, Bear-Resistant cans can be leased for a
small additional fee to your usual garbage hauling bill. Keeping your garbage
inside the house or garage until the morning of garbage pick-up, or making
weekly trips to the dump are both very helpful strategies to reduce bear-garbage
conflicts.
Kodiak Bear Resistant Garbage Cans
Available to Households that Self-haul to the Transfer Station
Unsecured garbage is the #1 reason for human-bear conflict on the Flathead
Indian Reservation. The CSKT Wildlife Management Program appreciates the
good stewardship of Reservation residents that practice methods to prevent
these avoidable human-wildlife conflicts. To facilitate Bear Smart practices in our
communities, we are continuing with our Bear-Resistant Garbage Can Loaner
Program to residents of the FIR who self-haul garbage to a local transfer station.
One is eligible for the Kodiak Bear Resistant Garbage Can Loaner Program if
you live within the Flathead Indian Reservation and self-haul your garbage to the
Lake County Transfer Station or other local designated Container Sites. The
Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes’ Wildlife Management Program has a
limited number of 65-gallon bear-resistant Kodiak garbage cans available at this
time for distribution. There is a one-time donation fee of $20.00; which can be
paid via cash or check. The money collected will go back into the Loaner
Program to purchase future cans.
Due to current availability and an expressed need, we are now allowing up to two
cans to be loaned per household!
To sign up and receive a Kodiak can, please visit the CSKT NRD-Division of
Fish, Wildlife, Recreation & Conservation Permit office at 406 6th Ave. E. Polson.
Monday-Thursday 7:00AM-5:00PM. Please bring a Driver’s License or Tribal ID
for verification of Residential Address.
Residents must self-haul garbage to a depository station on a regular basis to
ensure that the can does not overfill, and the lid must remain closed and latched
properly at all times. Should any damage alter the function of the can, the Wildlife
Management Program must be contacted immediately for maintenance/repairs.
Should the Kodiak can need to be replaced; the $20 fee will be reapplied.
Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes
Natural Resources Department
Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation & Conservation
P.O. Box 278
Pablo, MT 59855
(406) 675-2700 extension 7241
—CSKT—
This program is in partnership with the Blackfoot Challenge, Natural Resources
Defense Council, and other agencies and stakeholder groups within western
Montana. Again, these resources are first-come, first-served. For questions about
Kodiak bear-resistant garbage cans and availability, contact at The Natural
Resources Department Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation, and Conservation
Permit office at 883-2888, ext. 7200.
~~~For resident who have Republic Services or Grizzly Disposal, please contact
their representative, as bear-resistant options are available!! Call Republic
Services for more information at (406) 676-4330 or (406) 543-3157 and Grizzly
Disposal at (406) 541-7171. ~~~
