#WhitefishMT - #ConservationEasement enhances #WildlifeCorridor near Whitefish

Jan. 13, 2026 — "A newly created conservation easement along the #StillwaterRiver west of Whitefish is expected to help secure a critical wildlife corridor.

"Doug and Carolyn Kohrs worked with #FlatheadLandTrust to establish the 110-acre conservation easement earlier this month. The acreage, which augments a 655-acre conservation easement that the couple established in 2022, connects with the 1,560-acre #KuhnsWildlifeManagementArea and vast swaths of state and federally managed forestlands.

" 'Carolyn and I are excited to add this additional piece of wildlife-critical land to our existing easement,' said Doug Kohrs of the easement. 'Secure and safe wildlife corridors are important for all the different animal species who live in the valley, especially as the inevitable development creeps closer to their natural habitat.'

"The Kohrs have personally documented 95 bird species on the property, along with vital #wildlife species like #GrizzlyBears, #BlackBears, #MountainLions, #wolves, #bobcats, #elk and #deer. The easement also includes a stretch of the Stillwater River that provides habitat for #BullTrout and #WestslopeCutthroatTrout.

"The land was slated for an eight-home #subdivision before the Kohrs acquired it in 2005.

"The terms of the conservation easement prohibit division of the property and regulate construction to specific areas. The land can still be used for #agriculture.

"The easement is perpetual, meaning any future landowners would be required to abide by the same requirements.

" 'Just as this land serves as a vital anchor for a critical wildlife corridor, the Kohrs themselves have become a cornerstone of conservation in the #FlatheadValley,' reads a Jan. 6 press release from Flathead Land Trust. "Their dedication has created the essential framework for a landscape that remains open, connected and productive, ensuring that the region's natural character endures for generations."

Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/conservation-easement-enhances-wildlife-corridor-032000073.html

#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeConservation #Wildlife #Nature #Montana

Conservation easement enhances wildlife corridor near Whitefish

Jan. 13—A newly created conservation easement along the Stillwater River west of Whitefish is expected to help secure a critical wildlife corridor. Doug and ...

Yahoo News

Brook Trout, prototype (3″ figure by Replica Toy Fish) + custom Bull Trout

It’s Canada Day! And it just so happens that we’ll be seeing two variations of a figure that stretch from one coast to another!

Now we’re into the weeds of Replica Toy Fish figures–last time I looked at the last figure from the October 2015 trout and salmon figures, the coho salmon. I had mentioned that these were the last of the commercially released figures, and they were. But in October […]

Read more... https://animaltoyforum.com/blog/brook-trout-prototype-by-replica-toy-fish/

#BrookTrout #BullTrout #Salvelinus #SalvelinusConfluentus #SalvelinusFontinalis #ReplicaToyFish

"That's why we've been making a big effort to fundraise & get experts who can get out in the field and actually get a really good idea of where these #BullTrout populations are, how large they are & what the impacts to the watershed could be if the cut goes ahead."

https://www.podcastics.com/episode/309464/link/

#NaturalCapital #Kananaskis #Clearcut #Logging #Forests #biodiversity #Climate #watersheds #KCountry #YYC

Kananaskis clearcuts: outdated laws, new threats

How obsolete regulations and practices are endangering one of Alberta’s most unique and beloved wildlands

The Climate Lens

The key point here: Logging the upper Kananaskis will unavoidably damage some part of critical habitat of a protected trout population; will damage its residences; and/or will kill, harm, harass, or take individuals of a SARA-listed species. Any of those are unlawful, offering a means of stopping the logging through court action.

https://www.rmoutlook.com/kananaskis-country/new-studies-reveal-high-risk-to-at-risk-trout-from-kananaskis-logging-8777370

#logging #SpeciesAtRiskAct #abpoli #EasternSlopes #Alberta #Environment #BullTrout

New studies reveal high risk to at-risk trout from Kananaskis logging

“In the end, we end up with damaged or destroyed fish populations that are supposedly fully protected under the Species at Risk Act.”

Rocky Mountain Outlook

We posted this technical report recently.

Watershed assessments for upper Highwood-Loomis Creek proposed logging 2023-2025.

dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25425889

#watershed #logging #Alberta #EastSlopes #SpeciesAtRiskAct #BullTrout #WestslopeCutthroatTrout #Habitat #Streamflow #Clearcut #Hydrology

DFO's subversion of the letter and intent of the Species at Risk Act urgently needs to be adjudicated in court.

#SpeciesAtRiskAct #Conservation #Law #BullTrout #Logging

A classic problem with Canada's Department of Fisheries (DFO's) interpretation of the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

https://www.rmoutlook.com/kananaskis-country/federal-fisheries-agency-investigating-bridge-built-in-k-country-logging-activity-7484638

While the logging company failed to get a permit for this work, the real problem is that DFO would have given them one, as it almost certainly will, unlawfully, for the additional roads & watercrossings required for its logging operations. All of it potentially impacts legally-protected critical habitat for threatened bull trout.
#SpeciesAtRiskAct #BullTrout

Federal fisheries agency investigating bridge built in K-Country logging activity

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is investigating Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) building a bridge to access logging areas in Kananaskis after it failed to obtain a permit to build the crossing, aware of the presence of threatened bull trout and Westslope cutthroat trout in the Highwood River below.

Rocky Mountain Outlook

The Blackfoot Confederacy's native trout project in southern AB is showing some interesting results. H/t to Elliot Fox, Matt Coombs & the team for their eDNA work!
#eDNA #WestslopeCutthroat #BullTrout #NativeTrout #Alberta #Recovery #Conservation

https://medium.com/@AlbertaNativeTrout/where-buffalo-meet-native-trout-6612828fb945

Where Bison Meet Native Trout - Alberta's Native Trout - Medium

The Blackfoot Confederacy’s Native Trout Project was established in 2020 to prioritize blackfoot-led bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout assessment and restoration throughout the Bow and Oldman…

Medium