Grizzly and black bears are thick in the Flathead, Swan and Tobacco valleys, biologists for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said Friday.

And with the big bruins come conflicts and warnings, the managers said.

Both black and grizzly bears are at lower elevations now, looking for food that will provide them with the layer of fat they need in order to survive the winter in their dens, the biologists said.

Female grizzly bears with young are especially in need of additional food, because they have been nursing their cubs and need the extra calories.

FWP provided this accounting of recent grizzly bear management actions in the Flathead, Swan and Tobacco valleys.

Near Eureka, at least one young grizzly bear was seen feeding on apples and walking through yards. Traps were set for that bear, but it hasn’t been captured yet.

West of Fortine, landowners buried a dead horse and noticed something later dug it up. They put up a trail camera and three different grizzly bears were photographed at the site.

One of the grizzlies was wearing a radio collar that isn’t functioning properly. In an attempt to capture that bear and change the collar, two culvert traps were set.

MORE>>>Billings Gazette

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/grizzly-bears-abundant-in-northwest-montana-on-hunt-for-fat/article_74f91ac8-ba52-5d9c-beb0-b95e482b19ba.html#ixzz3mHZklafA

The city of Missoula will hire a local firm to help it go green by turning to solar energy, moving the Garden City closer to its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025.

On a unanimous vote, the City Council’s Administration and Finance Committee this week approved a $14,280 contract with Solar Plexus. The local company will create a “solar roadmap” to expand the city’s use of clean energy as it powers its municipal operations.

“The goal is to inform the city on the most cost-effective path to maximize solar generation on city buildings,” said Chase Jones, the city’s energy conservation coordinator. “It allows us to reduce our energy consumption, which in turn reduces the cost of purchased electricity in city operations.”

The roadmap will include a site assessment of 14 municipal facilities, including City Hall, Splash Montana and each of the five fire stations. It will also rank the proposed sites and help identify grants and other funding opportunities.

MORE>>>The Missoulian