More than $1 million in funding is being directed this year to communities and organizations working to reduce carnivore conflict and depredation across Montana.

The investment comes as Gov. Greg Gianforte reiterated his calls at a media event in Choteau in August to delist grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem from the protection of the Endangered Species Act.

At the same time, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is pushing bear-safe educational events for “bear aware month” in September under its new director, Christy Clark, whose family lives and ranches along the Rocky Mountain Front.

Clark’s agency recently launched an online dashboard tracking grizzly conflicts across the state. So far this year, 126 conflicts have been reported. Twenty known bear mortalities have

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