BNSF News

BNSF provides train ride in support of grizzly bear preservation efforts

2013-08-20

BNSF recently participated in a charity train ride to raise funds to support grizzly bear management efforts in Montana.

Jack Hanna, Columbus Zoo director emeritus and celebrity TV personality, his wife, Suzi, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Foundation and the Great Northern Environmental Stewardship Area took part in the charity train ride.

The grizzly bear has been listed as a threatened species since 1975, but currently approximately 1,000 grizzlies live in the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem.

According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the grizzly population is growing at an estimated 3 percent annually.

Hanna and Tim Manley, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks grizzly bear biologist, gave presentations during the ride. Hanna emphasized the practical and symbolic importance of preserving North America's grizzly bear population, while Manley provided an overview of grizzly bear conservation work in northwest Montana and the cooperative efforts the state agency developed with BNSF and others through the Great Northern Environmental Stewardship Area (GNESA).

"Grizzly bear conservation and management in the railroad corridor between Glacier National Park and the Great Bear Wilderness have improved dramatically since the formation of the Great Northern Environmental Stewardship Area," said Jim Williams, Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife program manager. "The formation of GNESA has resulted in improved communication and trust between BNSF and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and other agency and private partners."

BNSF donated this business car trip as a fundraising event for GNESA and the Montana Outdoor Legacy Foundation in support of grizzly bear preservation efforts.

GNESA is a partnership of private landowners, citizens' organizations, businesses and government agencies establishing innovative stewardship practices in the corridor between the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and Glacier National Park.

Learn more at www.gnsa.org.

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