Year of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Arts (MA)
Degree Name
Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism
Department or School/College
School of Journalism
Committee Chair
Jeremy Largo
Commitee Members
Libby Metcalf, Lisa Krantz,
Keywords
Grizzly Bears, Environmental Journalism, Prairie, Photo essay
Subject Categories
Journalism Studies
Abstract
High up a coulee on the Montana prairie, Seth and Jennie Becker look over the windswept landscape with binoculars and point out three grizzly bear dens along the rim of a canyon. The couple, who own Stick Leg Ranch, estimate there are eight grizzly bear dens on their property. After their nine-year-old son nearly came face to face with a grizzly, they decided they needed to find a solution.
Over the last five years, grizzly bears have been expanding further and further east onto the Montana prairie. For example, in October 2023, a grizzly bear was caught on game camera in the Upper Missouri River Breaks, hundreds of miles from the grizzly recovery zones of the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystems. It was the furthest east a grizzly bear had been seen in 100 years.
Recommended Citation
Stember, John A., "Grizzly Bears Moving onto the Great Plains" (2025). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12479.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12479
© Copyright 2025 John A. Stember