Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists will capture mountain goats in the Bridger Range next month as part of a study that will help inform mountain goat and habitat management.

The project will entail capturing 30 mountain goats, sampling them and outfitting them with GPS collars. The captures are scheduled to happen between Dec. 10 and 18.

One of the purposes of the capture is to assess the overall health of the mountain goat population, including their infection with respiratory and other pathogens and parasites, their body condition and pregnancy rates. Another purpose is to collect mountain goat movement data to understand their seasonal ranges and movement corridors and evaluate the effects of human recreation on goat habitat use.

FWP staff conduct similar capture projects each year throughout Montana to better understand wildlife health, movement and habitat. These studies provide meaningful data that inform wildlife management and highlight opportunities for habitat enhancement in many places.

The Bridger Range has held a healthy population of mountain goats since they were introduced in 1969. The most recent mountain goat classification survey in 2019 found an all-time high of 127 goats in the Bridgers. This herd provides recreation opportunities for many wildlife enthusiasts.

People who live and recreate in the Bridgers may see a helicopter in the area during the mountain goat capture project. FWP asks people who recreate here to keep their distance from the helicopter.

Hunter success picked up over the fourth weekend of the general deer and elk hunting season in southwest Montana, with fresh snow that made tracking wildlife easier in some places.
 
Wildlife biologists with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks operated several check stations during all or part of the fourth weekend of the season — Nov. 14 and 15. In total, biologists met with 776 hunters (an increase of about 200 hunters from the previous weekend) at check stations in Cameron, Gallatin, Divide and the lower Blacktail Deer Creek watershed.

Biologists use check stations to collect data on hunters’ participation, success and wildlife observations, as well as the species, sex and age class of the animals harvested. This supplements data collected through hunter harvest phone surveys.
 
This was the busiest weekend at the Cameron station this season, with 313 hunters, but hunter numbers here remained below the long-term average. Hunter success at the Cameron check station was 11.8 percent. The Gallatin check station saw 103 hunters, and hunter success there more than doubled from the previous week to 14.6 percent. The Divide check station saw 224 hunters, with a hunter success rate of 8.5 percent. Nine percent of the 136 hunters that came through the check station on lower Blacktail Deer Creek were successful.

 
Over the weekend, biologists checked 50 elk, 18 mule deer and 7 white-tailed deer, among other species.
 
These figures do not account for different hunting season regulations over the years, which have varied from liberal to restrictive for elk and mule deer, depending on population status.

The chronic wasting disease sampling station in Bozeman has been closed due to COVID-19.

This station was located at FWP’s Bozeman office, 1400 S. 19^th Ave.

Hunters who need help collecting CWD samples from their harvested deer, elk or moose can find alternative sampling station locations at https://buff.ly/35vFbWh. Hunters can also access resources from FWP on how to collect and submit samples themselves by visiting https://go.usa.gov/x7EGX.

Simulation in Motion Montana (SIM-MT) has received a $20,000 award from the Sibanye-Stillwater Community Giving program. This award will allow for simulation training services for up to eight EMS/fire agencies in the catchment area of south central Montana Sibanye-Stillwater operations.

The rural agencies who will benefit from SIM-MT’s world-class simulation training are the primary 911 response for more than 7,000 square miles of south central Montana, including response for mine employees. As a result of this grant, the eligible first responders will receive sophisticated, high-fidelity simulation training to prepare them to more effectively respond to injuries. “Sibanye-Stillwater is so grateful for its local emergency responders, many of whom are graciously donating their time and skills as volunteers, and believes this training will enable these emergency responders to give back even more to our local communities,” says Marlena Ferguson of Sibanye-Stillwater.

Beneficiaries of this training are not just first responders. In fact, the primary benefit will be for patients needing critical care in these rural communities. High fidelity simulation training improves first responders’ abilities to provide effective immediate treatment at the site of an accident and/or in transit to a hospital, which is crucial to improving positive outcomes for all patients. SIM-MT brings that level of training to EMS agencies’ front doors. 

The Helmsley Charitable Trust will match this gift dollar for dollar, which will support SIM-MT in reaching additional facilities and responders across the state. “SIM-MT, along with its project partner, Best Practice Medicine, is excited for the opportunity to provide training to first responder agencies in south central Montana and grateful for the support of Sibanye Stillwater in our efforts to do so,” said Sara Kaull, Interim Executive Director of SIM-MT. “This grant from Sibanye-Stillwater, and the match provided by the Helmsley Charitable Trust, are critical to our ability to bring this caliber of high fidelity simulation training directly to underserved first responder agencies in Montana.”

For more information on SIM-MT’s mobile simulation services, visit our website: www.simmt.org. 

BOZEMAN – Hunter numbers and success continue to vary in southwest Montana as recent snowfall facilitated some harvest opportunity while creating challenges for travel and access.
 
Wildlife biologists with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks operated several check stations during all or part of the third weekend of the season — Nov. 7 and 8. In total, biologists met with close to 600 hunters at check stations in Alder, Cameron, Gallatin and Divide.
 
Biologists use check stations to collect data on hunter participation and success, as well as the species, sex and age class of the animals harvested. This supplements data collected through hunter harvest phone surveys.
 
The Alder check station saw 233 hunters, 14 percent of whom harvested an animal. This was the highest success rate for hunters at this check station so far this year. The Cameron check station saw 206 hunters, with a success rate of 6.4 percent, slightly lower than the long-term average of 7.8 percent. The Gallatin check station, which operated only on Nov. 7, saw 57 hunters, 7 percent of whom were successful. 

In a preliminary total, biologists checked about 28 elk, 18 mule deer and 7 white-tailed deer, among other species.
 
These figures do not account for different hunting season regulations over the years, which have varied from liberal to restrictive for elk and mule deer, depending on population status.
 

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Montana State University has been selected to lead a two-year study about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses, the largest group of U.S. health care workers, focusing on changes in employment, earnings and the supply of nurses. The study is being funded by grants totaling $430,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The John A. Hartford Foundation, the Johnson & Johnson Foundation in partnership with the Johnson & Johnson Center for Health Worker Innovation and UnitedHealth Group.  

The study is being led by Peter Buerhaus, professor in the MSU College of Nursing and director of the MSU Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies, along with co-researchers Douglas Staiger, professor of economics at Dartmouth College, and David Auerbach, senior director of research and cost trends at the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission.

“Over the last century, nurses have faced many shocks, including world wars and economic recessions, but they have not experienced a pandemic in modern times,” Buerhaus said. “For the country’s well-being, it is critical to track and understand the effects of COVID-19 on the nursing workforce.”

There are approximately four million registered nurses and 200,000 nurse practitioners across the nation, and they are supported by more than 600,000 licensed practical nurses and hundreds of thousands of nursing assistants working in countless care delivery settings.

The study will research whether employment in certain settings grew during the pandemic, assess regional differences and seek to better understand if the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on earnings and employment by race, ethnicity, gender and age.

“Through this research we want to understand whether nurses are leaving the workforce and whether large numbers of baby boomer nurses are retiring earlier than they had planned,” Buerhaus said. “If the pandemic is causing nurses to leave the workforce or retire early, then health care delivery organizations could be in trouble.”

“It is imperative that our workforce research include an analysis of the pandemic’s impact on nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses and professional registered nurses, especially those working in nursing homes,” said Terry Fulmer, president of The John A. Hartford Foundation who recently served on the independent Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes. “The illness and deaths in these settings have taken a terrible toll on residents and families, and on these essential staff who are the backbone of care for our most frail older adults and people with disabilities.”

Finally, the researchers will forecast the number of registered nurses through 2030. Prior to the pandemic, forecasts indicated that the number of registered nurses would increase by at least one million. Now, experts say, that number is unclear.

Over the past 20 years, Buerhaus, Staiger and Auerbach have conducted numerous of studies of the nursing workforce. Regardless of the pandemic’s effects on the nursing workforce, Buerhaus said, one thing is clear: nurses will continue to be as crucial as they always have been.

The report will be completed by 2022, but throughout the project, key results will be shared in quarterly reports and peer-reviewed journals, as well as through webinars and interactions with government workforce organizations, professional associations, researchers and others.

“Nurses serve as critical links between patients and other members of the care team, especially during a health crisis,” said Mary Jo Jerde, a nurse and senior vice president, UnitedHealth Group Center for Clinician Advancement. “Understanding the impact of the pandemic on the workforce will help policymakers, health care delivery organizations, academic institutions, payors and the public work together to better support nurses now and into the future.”

“Nurses are the most admired, trusted and respected of all professions in the United States,” said Susan Hassmiller of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “They keep people safe, they assure quality, and they advise people and comfort them. We need to know the impact this pandemic is having on nurses of all races, genders, regions and settings. We cannot let this pandemic deflate the culture of this vibrant profession.”

According to Montana State University Extension, an important goal for many Montana family farm and ranch enterprises is to transfer land and businesses to the next generation, but the process can be challenging.

According to Marsha Goetting, MSU Extension family economics specialist, some families may avoid the process completely because of its economic, legal and family decision complexities. Others may start the process but abandon it to avoid conflicts that can arise from differences in goals, values and perceptions of fairness among family members.

The MSU Extension MontGuide “Transferring Your Farm/Ranch to the Next Generation” has worksheets and information for each member of a family to help focus their thoughts and feelings about succession planning issues.

Because of the strong bonds inherent with the heritage and lifestyles, generation transfers are more frequent in agriculture than any other business, Goetting said. Unresolved conflicts can have major impacts on the long-term success and viability of the operation as well as the transfer plan itself.

Goetting said the first question families should address in this process is whether the business is profitable enough to transfer to the next generation. Because emotions can get involved, families may need to consult with an accountant or farm management consultant to assist in this evaluation.

“During my estate planning meetings across Montana before COVID-19, members of the younger generations found it difficult to initiate a discussion about the farm and ranch transfer and succession processes,” Goetting said. “They fear older generations may perceive them as being overly interested in their inheritances. On the other hand, when members of the older generations bring up the topic, younger generations may not be responsive. They do not want to think about their grandparents or parents dying.”

Families who have been through the transfer and succession planning process suggest starting at an individual level, Goetting said. Then, families should discuss issues in a larger group. For example, if a father feels it important for the farm or ranch to remain in the family’s possession but his wife is ambivalent, they need to come to an agreement before they begin succession planning with their children. Afterward the two generations can meet to share thoughts on the process.

Reaching a family agreement about goals before a business discussion helps negotiations run smoothly, Goetting added. While there still may be times of tension or conflict about values and roles in the family business, communication is key in keeping the process moving.

“Preparing farm and ranch family business members for transfer and succession planning is a part of the older generation’s responsibility to the younger generation,” Goetting said. “The legal and economic aspects of the transfer plan are important. Connectedness among the family business members and the working out of future management strategies, or succession planning, is also absolutely critical to the success of any transfer plan.”

“Transferring Your Farm/Ranch to the Next Generation” can be found at http://msuextension.org/publications/FamilyFinancialManagement/EB0149.pdf. Printed copies are available from county or reservation Extension offices or by contacting Goetting at Montana State University, P.O. Box 172800, Bozeman, MT 59717.