FWP told more study needed on grizzly zoo

By JOAN HAINES For the Chronicle

Only one person spoke in favor of a proposed open-air zoo housing up to three grizzly bears on Bozeman Pass at a public hearing Monday night.

The Environmental Assessment of the zoo is too vague and ignores significant impacts, several environmentalists told wildlife officials. A decision on whether to grant the zoo a permit should be postponed, they said.

Casey Anderson, 27, of Idaho Falls and his partner, John Peterson, 50, of Livingston, want to operate the zoo, which would display grizzlies born in captivity.

They are building the zoo on three acres of land at the Jackson Creek exit of Interstate 90. The structure that would house the three bears would cover about one acre.

They need a roadside zoo and menagerie permit from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to open.

"The Environmental Assessment (EA) downplays significant impacts," Craig Kennerly of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition told about 60 people who attended the hearing at FWP headquarters on South 19th Avenue. "It would be the first and only commercial facility" in the area. "It needs a full blown Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)."

An EIS is a more complex document which takes more time and money to prepare.

Kennerly was one of about 15 people who testified.

The area is an important wildlife corridor, some people said. Wild grizzlies could be attracted to the zoo and might be killed trying to cross I-90. They are protected under the Endangered Species Act and should be protected.

Pat Flowers, FWP regional supervisor, conducted the hearing and will make the decision on the permit. Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. Jan. 20 at FWP headquarters in Bozeman.

Flowers told the crowd state law requires that animals in a zoo be safe and that residents, zoo staff and customers be protected. A permit can't be denied on the basis off esthetics or property values, he said.

Then legislators should think about changing the law, said Nona Chambers of Chestnut, a community located just west of Bozeman Pass. She encouraged FWP to consider writing an EIS.

Passions ran high, but those who testified were polite.

It would be more appropriate to call the proposed zoo a "grizzly bear maximum security prison," said Jennifer Reid, who lives on Jackson Creek Road. "It's cruel to confine (the bears) in three acres."

Dave Pauli of Billings, director of the Humane Society of the United States, called the EA "insufficient" and asked for an EIS.

Jennifer Madgic, Gallatin County's planning director, suggested delaying a decision on the permit.

Mary Ann Kelly said she was opposed to the facility because keeping bears in a zoo "is not a humane way to treat animals." She said the zoo would be "too close to existing homes."

Tim Weyer said he lives adjacent to the site and said he is concerned about the zoo's impact on his children and his livestock.

Tony Kolnik said he thought the zoo proposal was a good one and that FWP officials did a good job preparing the environmental assessment.

"This is a good thing," Kolnik said. "It's a good use of ground."

Anderson and Peterson attended the hearing. Peterson said they didn't want to comment until after they had had a chance to review the comments.

Reader Comments