Carelessness and two grizzly bears dead near Ronan, MT

Unprotected chicken coops becoming a source of  bears deaths on Flathead Reservation-

Two grizzlies were shot dead last weekend near the base of the bear-heavy Mission Mountains in NW Montana.

An elk antler gatherer stumbled into a griz on the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife area and shot the bear. Not far away on the Flathead Indian Reservation a grizzly bear was shot near a chicken coop. Raising chickens in unprotected pens and sheds is a rapidly growing economic activity on the reservation.

These dead bears were number 3 and 4 for the year in general area.

Grizzlies killed on Flathead Reservation, at Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area. By Rob Chaney and Vince Devlin of the Missoulian

Yellowstone bears and wolves fight over carcasses

Their ancient struggle apparently has little effect on their populations-

That’s the conclusion of Dr. Doug Smith who heads the Park’s wolf program.

I think that might well be true overall, but Yellowstone Park is a small place when it comes to major predators.  With the wolf population in the Park as small as it now is, random fluctuations of predatory effects might, in my opinion, have an important effect on the wolves as far as the Park alone is concerned. . . RM

Bears butting in on Yellowstone wolf kills. Battle of carnivores ultimately has little effect on population. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Grizzly’s threatened status heard before Ninth Circuit

Grizzly’s threatened status appealed in 9th Circuit court. Washington Post

Update added on March 14: Audio of hearing before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

I listened to most of this. The government attorney seemed to perform weakly in response to questions, IMO. I didn’t think the National Wildlife Federation did well intervening on behalf of the government. They made a political rather than a legal or scientific argument.  RM

Northern Range Yellowstone elk count drops to record low in latest count

Latest  is 4,635 elk, count is down 24 percent from 6,070 last winter-
Wolf population was over 100, 5 years ago; now down to 37-*

Update. Leader of the Yellowstone wolf team, Dr. Doug Smith talks about the elk situation on Montana Public Radio News. Note that it is not the first story in the “evening news.”

News Release from the
Northern Yellowstone Cooperative Wildlife Working Group 

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks – Contact:  Karen Loveless
406-224-1162
National Park Service – Contact:  Doug Smith 307-344-2242
U.S. Forest Service – Contact: Dan Tyers 406-848-7375
U.S. Geological Survey – Contact:  Paul Cross 406-994-6908

January 12, 2011

Winter Count Shows Decline In Northern Elk Herd Population
———————————————————-

Wildlife biologists say increased predation, ongoing drought, and hunting
pressure all contributed to a decline in the northern Yellowstone elk
population from 1995 to 2010.

The annual aerial survey of the herd conducted during December 2010
resulted in a count of 4,635 elk, down 24 percent from the 6,070 reported
the previous year. There has been about a 70 percent drop in the size of
the northern elk herd from the 16,791 elk counted in 1995 and the start of
wolf restoration to Yellowstone National Park.

Whitebark Pine Trees Face Long Odds for Survival

But several million dollars a year for starting seedlings in nurseries might restore it-

This is perhaps the first article I have read that offers a glimmer of hope for this rapidly disappearing tree, so vital to grizzly bears and Clark’s nutcrackers.

Whitebark Pine Trees Face Long Odds for Survival. By Laura Petersen, E&E reporter in WyoFile.

Western governors focus on endangered species

The governors meeting in Las Vegas this week.

Okay, so now governors are arguing that the Endangered Species Act should be gutted because swarms of prairie dogs are digging into golf courses. Need I say more?

“The frustration level is reaching the breaking point in many levels because of this act,” said Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert. “It’s nonsensical.”

The Republican governor griped about swarms of endangered prairie dogs digging into golf courses. “They have become so domesticated, they are just a pain,” he said.

The slippery slope argument does apply in this case and changing the ESA would set an extremely bad precedent. It should be stopped. Call your congress people and senators, especially those who have a strong record on environmental issues, and tell them to shut this down.

Take Action for Wolves & the ESA Now:

Contact Your U.S. Senator

Contact Your Congressional Representative

Tell them to protect the Endangered Species Act

Contact the White House

Tell President Obama to protect the Endangered Species Act

Western governors focus on endangered species.
Bloomberg

Obama Administration wants to lift protections for wolf and grizzly

When will this Administration represent the people who put them in office?

How many votes do you think this will bring them? And who do they want to do this for? It is turning out that those who are yelling the loudest are poachers and welfare ranchers?  Will they ever vote for him?

U.S. wants to lift protections for wolf and grizzly.
By Laura Zuckerman – Reuters

Todd Wilkinson: [Former] Idaho Pastor Calls For ‘Open Season’ on Yellowstone Grizzlies

Wilkinson takes apart pastor Bryan Fischer’s arguments-

Todd Wilkinson: Idaho Pastor Calls For ‘Open Season’ on Yellowstone Grizzlies. Huffington Post.

Of course, rational argument hardly ever changes anyone’s religious beliefs. I think this is another confirmation that pushy religious extremists are getting involved in wildlife issues as part of their larger effort to dominate us.  We are having to refight battles that should have been permanently won a hundred years ago.

I didn’t know this guy, Fischer, was actually chaplain of the Idaho State Senate. How creepy! He has now moved to Los Angeles.

Greater Yellowstone grizzly numbers top 600 for first time

Record population is reached amidst a year of bear food stress and many mortalities-

This is a replacement of the original article (it’s more complete). Grizzly numbers hit new high in Yellowstone region. By Matthew Brown. AP

Because of the late spring, just average berry crop, and failure of the whitebark pine nut crop (there will be no more successes), the record number of grizzlies (603) have been very hungry and have come into lots of contact with humans. The death toll of grizzlies is getting close to 50 just before hibernation.

Latest: Hunter shoots grizzly in the South Fork Shoshone. Wyoming Bureau, Billings Gazette

Here are the details on grizzly mortality (up to number 47). 2010 Known and Probable Grizzly Bear Mortalities in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK). USGS.

Here is the sorry news on Whitebark Pine nut production. http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/files/norock/products/IGBST/2010Wbp_FINAL.pdf

Global Warming, Killer Bears?

Obama’s Abandonment of the West

Grizzly feeding on elk © Ken Cole

Doug Peacock continues to enrich the debate over grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem :

Global Warming, Killer Bears? Doug Peacock, Counterpunch

Biologists sometimes like to quibble that losing the grizzly because of the collapse of whitebark pine forests may be the least of our ecological worries. Ecosystems are, of course, founded on the backs of bugs and bacteria not bears. But there is another argument, less scientific, for keeping a few grizzlies around: the American grizzly bear, especially the isolated population marooned on the island of Yellowstone Park, stands alone in defiance of human arrogance. It is the single North American animal who challenges our dominion, reminds us that we are not top dog in the wilderness or within the food pyramid.

Death of whitebark pine results record number of WY grizzly captures this year

Hungry grizzlies at lower elevations, find livestock, along with natural food-

Although federal grizzly bear managers have been sanguine about the the death of whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, the effect on the grizzlies is obvious in Wyoming. They have come down from the subalpine where the whitebark pine will never again have a good year. As federal bear managers predicted, the grizzlies have found food at lower elevations. They love bluegrass, but the trouble is cows are often standing in it.

Wyoming grizzly captures on record pace this year. Bears might be coming to lower elevations in search of food. By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Cory Hatch’s story makes the low elevation grizzly’s presence sound like a puzzle, but I changed the head because the cause is obvious.

Sept. 9, 2010. Related. Grizzly bear trapped near Cody, moved. Billings Gazette.

Losing the Whitebark Pine affects much more than grizzly bears

“We don’t know what’s going to happen without whitebark.”-

I know it will soon be functionally extinct, although no doubt some token remnants will be protected from beetles and blister rust. Ecologically speaking, it is already almost gone.

Here is a long essay on its demise and the effects. Feature article in New West. Grizzlies Only Scratch the Surface of What It Will Mean to Lose the Whitebark Pine.  The twisted, threatened symbol of high elevation connects an entire ecosystem. As one biologist puts it, “We don’t know what’s going to happen without whitebark.” By Shauna Stephenson. New West

Feds appeal grizzly bear relisting

Historic and current range of the grizzly bear. Linked from Sightline

Rather than pursue a grizzly bear restoration that puts bears’ welfare first, the feds are appealing a district court decision to keep grizzlies protected under the Endangered Species Act, taking that decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

From the Endangered Species Act:

The term ‘‘endangered species’’ means any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range……

Surely there are significant tracts of land in Idaho and some other states where grizzly bears could persist but the USFWS has re-interpreted the ESA in a way that only grants protection to species in their current range rather than their historic range. This has not always been the case, and it is why ESA listings and delistings are challenged so often by conservation groups. The new interpretation allows for incremental listing and delisting which is contrary to the ESA. The re-interpretation of the ESA by the USFWS serves only to benefit industry and not the imperiled species it was intended to protect.

Feds appeal grizzly bear relisting – Billings Gazette

Grizzly Managers Spin Whitebark Pine Woes: Just How Important is Whitebark to Yellowstone Bears?

Very important.

Interesting post by NRDC’s Louisa Wilcox about how the science shows how critical whitebark pine nuts are for grizzlies and how the managers talk out of both sides of their mouth.

“In its August 9th legal brief challenging the 2009 ruling by Federal Judge Donald Molloy that required relisting of the Yellowstone grizzly bear under the Endangered Species Act, federal attorneys said, “the grizzly does not depend on whitebark pine for its survival. The grizzly is a very successful omnivore, and that…they will somehow be able to adapt to a decline in whitebark pines.” The legal briefs then go on to dismiss the issue of whitebark pine relationships to grizzly bear vital rates, including mortality risks, as well as the reproductive success of females. This argument, as the district court ruled, and I will discuss later, runs counter to the evidence on the record.

Then, just yesterday, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team sent out a press release saying, “the scarcity of whitebark pine cones this year may be driving bears to find food at lower elevations, where there is more human activity, increasing the chances of bear-human interactions.” (This comes in a year when 22 grizzly bears are known to have died, and many human-bear conflicts have occurred — months before bears will den up.)”

Grizzly Managers Spin Whitebark Pine Woes: Just How Important is Whitebark to Yellowstone Bears?.
Louisa Willcox’s Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Whitebark Pine May Gain Federal Protection

Tree, important for grizzly bears, affected by global warming, insects, and fungus

The whitebark pine is a tree that lives at high elevations and was historically unaffected by pine beetles but due to global warming this has changed. Also, blister rust, an introduced fungal infection has taken a large toll on the trees.

The pine nuts of the trees are collected by squirrels and Clarke’s nutcrackers who’s caches are an important food source for grizzly bears. With their decline the bears are being affected too.

Whitebark Pine May Gain Federal Protection
From KTVZ.COM

Upper Green River grizzly bear closure lifts on July 16

Park lifts camping ban forced by bear activity. Casper Star Tribune.
Related. Grizzly bites Casper man near Union Pass. Jackson Hole Daily. This isn’t all that far from the upper Green

– – – – – –
Posted earlier on July 10. Grizzly bears prompt camping closure in popular Upper Green River area

‘Loma Bear’ returns, caught near Carter Carter area

Rare grizzly living on the Montana plains likely to be killed

A grizzly bear that was relocated from near Loma, Montana to west of the Continental Divide last year has been recaptured on the plains of Montana after being accused of killing more sheep and some chickens. Authorities have approached the Bear Center at Washington State University to see if they can accept the bear. He will likely be killed if a home cannot be found for him.

‘Loma Bear’ returns, caught near Carter Carter area
BY KARL PUCKETT • Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer

Grizzly bears prompt camping closure in popular Upper Green River area

Varied and numerous grizzly activity closes national forest camping from forest boundary to well past Green River Lakes-

I remember when the nearest grizzlies were 20 miles to the north of here.  I am glad to see grizzlies have returned in strength to the Wind River Mountains.  I hope they get these problems worked out before long.  This is a very scenic area.

Story from the Casper Star Tribune.

Judge Molloy blocks 3 timber sales in grizzly country

Issues restraining order on sales in the Cabinet-Yaak where 45 bears live-

Good news for this struggling, but now finally increasing, grizzly population up against the Montana-Idaho-B.C. border.

Story in the Missoulian. By Rob Chaney.

NW Montana grizzlies are again way out on the Plains

Last year one grizzly almost made it to the Missouri River-

FWP to trap grizzlies on prairie. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer

– – – – –

Update: Plains grizzlies not seen since June 8. Great Falls Tribune.
High water on the Missouri River expected to deter them from swimming it.

Young Grizzly Victim of of HIt-and-Run in Yellowstone National Park

Second Collision in a Week

Highway 191 is deadly to wildlife and a number of elk, wolves and bears have been hit along this stretch over the years. It is likely the most deadly stretch of road for wildlife anywhere in Yellowstone National Park. The stretch of highway 191 between Bozeman and Big Sky to the north is also the most deadly stretch of highway for motorists in Montana. I’ve been passed a few times on snowy roads where there was a double yellow line.  It pays to drive carefully on this highway.

Highway 191 through Yellowstone

Young Grizzly Victim of of HIt-and-Run in Yellowstone National Park, Second Collision in a Week
National Parks Traveler.

Grizzly bear with rare four cubs delights visitors in Yellowstone

Grizzly bear with rare four cubs delights visitors in Yellowstone.
San Francisco Examiner

Alberta grizzlies listed as threatened

Will this help?

Conservationists have been raising the alarm for years about the declining grizzly bear population in Alberta.
Alberta grizzlies listed as threatened.
The Associated Press

Hiker Shoots Grizzly Bear in Denali

New law allowing guns in National Parks has its first casualty

Grizzly bear shot killed in Denali National Park.
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Outcome of grizzly bear shooting case shows feeling threatened is not enough

Although the griz killer might have gotten a slap on the hand, a good precedent was set-

When it comes to grizzly bears, a threatened species, you can legally shoot one in self defense. However, the recent  Jackson, WY conviction of a man who shot a grizzly in what he said was self defense shows that self defense does not mean you are justified killing a griz just because you saw it and were frightened.

Trial sets precedent. Verdict in grizzly bear shooting shows that people must justify a sense of threat. By Cory Hatch and Sarah Lison, Jackson Hole News and Guide.

New law pits guns vs. grizzlies in national parks

Are we going to see a spike in grizzly deaths due to this new law?

Grizzly tracks north of Island Park Reservoir 5/4/2010 © Ken Cole

The new gun law which allows people to carry guns in National Parks will be put to the test this year as people take to the backcountry of Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier. Will there be an increase in grizzly bear deaths or maybe even wolf deaths in the nation’s National Parks? It’s as if some people confuse the 2nd Amendment with the 2nd Commandment and insist on people being able to carry guns anywhere and everywhere. I hope I am wrong and that gun owners will be responsible in our National Parks.

“Experience shows that putting firearms and grizzly bears in the same place ends up with dead grizzly bears,” said Steve Cain, senior biologist for Grand Teton National Park.

The Associated Press: New law pits guns vs. grizzlies in national parks.
By MEAD GRUVER (AP)

Hair rub technique appears to yield cheaper, more accurate data on grizzlies

More grizzlies than thought in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem

Grizzly feeding on elk © Ken Cole

The grizzly bear DNA study that Senator John McCain often ridiculed out of ignorance has shown that there are many more grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem than previously estimated. The technique is effective enough that individual bears can be recognized and the parentage of the bears can also be determined.

The researchers estimate that there are about 765 grizzlies in the area which is 2 1/2 times higher than previously thought.

Industry groups like this information because they want grizzlies to be taken off the Endangered Species List. They are hoping for eased restrictions on logging, mining and other activities.

Hair rub technique appears to yield cheaper, more accurate data on grizzlies.
Juliet Eilperin – Washington Post

Grizzly bear to be relocated to Cabinets

A female grizzly without any history of human conflict will be selected for the move.

This has been done a few times over the years but the idea of moving grizzly bears into areas that don’t already have them or across state boundaries has been out of the question due to the hysteria that surrounds them.

Grizzly bear to be relocated to Cabinets.
The Western News

Scientists seek proof of N. Cascades grizzlies

Reported sightings in the Cascades of Washington State lead to funding to search for grizzlies.

There have been reported sightings of grizzly bears for many years in the Cascades of Washington but very little has been confirmed. As the article states, grizzly bears don’t usually disperse long distances like wolves do so colonizing new areas takes longer for them. Another reason for slow recovery for grizzlies is that they reproduce at a much slower rate than wolves and they have a fairly high human caused mortality rate.

Grizzlies here, as in other parts of the lower 48 have full protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Scientists seek proof of N. Cascades grizzlies
By K.C. MEHAFFEY
THE WENATCHEE WORLD

Scientists say B.C. grizzly hunt could hurt recovery efforts in Montana

Alberta’s griz population has already collapsed, B.C.’s grizzly hunt quota too high-

Pitiful Alberta now has fewer grizzly bears now than Montana does, and scientists say that B.C. is going the same direction, most directly affecting Montana in the North Fork of Flathead.

Scientists say B.C. grizzly hunt could hurt recovery efforts in Montana. By Michael Jamison of the Missoulian

Satire: Alberta protesters scream for grizzly blood

Shades of Steven Colbert-
No more grizzlies !

Protesters scream for grizzly blood. By Darcy Henton and Jamie Hall, edmontonjournal.com in the Vancouver Sun.

Related

Time running out for Alberta’s dwindling grizzlies. Minister mulls reinstating spring hunt even as gov’t report recommends bears be listed as threatened species. By Darcy Henton, Edmonton Journal

Montana Rocky Mountain Front grizzlies are emerging

There is a difference though. Now they are waking up and going well out onto the plains-

We discussed this a lot last fall, with grizzly bears pushing eastward out of the Rockies well onto the plains of north central Montana.  One almost made it to the Missouri River (shades of Lewis and Clark!).

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is holding local meetings on co-existing on this long settled, but sparsely populated part of Montana. So far there doesn’t seem to the crazy talk we have become used to on some of this big animal issues.

Grizzlies out along the Front. Great Falls Tribune.

Meetings scheduled on Front about coexistence with grizzly bears. By Eve Byron. Helena Independent Record as printed in the Billings Gazette.

Ancient DNA from Rare Fossil Reveals That Polar Bears Evolved Recently and Adapted Quickly

Polar bears are a geologically very new species-

This is quite relevant because we have been discussing how grizzly bears are displacing polar bears in the Arctic.  We already knew brown bears were polar bears’ ancestors.

Ancient DNA from Rare Fossil Reveals That Polar Bears Evolved Recently and Adapted Quickly. Science Daily.

Grizzly Bear hunters target B.C. provincial parks, highways

I’m not sure if this report is about all human caused mortality or legal hunting. The existence of nearby paved road access makes a big difference regardless.

Grizzly Bear hunters target B.C. provincial parks, highways. Globe and Mail. Mark Hume

Grizzlies move into Canadian polar bear territory

Will there be more “pizzlies”/” grolar bears”?

Someone put up a version of this on our “have you run across any interesting news page.” Now for a full post.

Grizzlies encroach on polar bear territory
By Doreen Walton
Science reporter, BBC News

Seems like I read polar bears are a more recently evolved species than the big brown grizzly bear (called by other names in Asia and Europe)

People killed 20 grizzly bears in western, north-central Montana in 2009

Number was about average-

People killed 20 grizzly bears in western, north-central Montana in 2009. AP

Grizzly bear kills in Montana keep federal agents hard at work

Feature story on USFWS LE agents-

There are about 200 special agents nationwide, and they investigated over 12,000 cases in 2007.

The story is mostly about the Montana agent and his 20 cases including 3 grisly, grizzly killings.
Wildlife G-men on patrol: Outdoor scofflaws keep agents busy. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune.

Servheen predicts Glacier National Park area grizzlies could be delisted in next 5 years

Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem griz said to be doing well-

The Greater Yellowstone ecosystem grizzlies were delisted a couple years ago, but then relisted by Judge Molloy. Now the head of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee foresees delisting the larger population of Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzlies. That is Glacier National Park, the Great Bear Wilderness, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Scapegoat Wilderness, the Rocky Mountain Front, the Mission Mountains Wilderness, the Whitefish mountain range, and other lands around them — a big area.

I think he is likely right. This ecosystem is much more productive of grizzly bear food than the Greater Yellowstone, and it hasn’t taken as many habitat hits as the Greater Yellowstone.

Biologist predicts grizzly bears’ removal from endangered list. By Chris Peterson. Hungry Horse News

Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton manage roadside griz differently

Which method works best?

Actually it seems to me that there are too few differences in result so far to make a determination.

Glacier hazes roadside bears; Grand Teton, Yellowstone let people close. By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Back in the days before 1970, Yellowstone let people feed sandwiches and twinkes to bears along the roadside. About 60 tourists were injured a year as a result. Yet there was a great outrage from the public when the practice of roadside feeding was stopped.

Today bears are coming back to the edge or roads, but feeding is not allowed. Injuries are few to none. If injuries increase, how will the public and Park Service react?

Grizzlies in central Idaho is a politically difficult thing

Evidence is grizzly restoration would be much easier if some would just migrate in as opposed to reintroduction-

This article covers a lot of topics about grizzly recovery, bear tracking, restoration, and politics.

Grizzlies in the Bitterroot Mountains politically thorny. By Rob Cheney.  Missoulian

IGBC meets on new grizzly plan for North Casades

Focus today, Jan. 12, is on Yellowstone grizzlies after Judge Molloy relisted them-

Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee drafts new plan for grizzly bear recovery in Rockies, Cascades. AP

More on the meeting: Grizzly panel [IGBC] says it can’t meet judge’s requirements for delisting. By Rob Chaney. The Missoulian.

I have been reading this claim ever since Judge Molloy relisted the Yellowstone grizzly, but the news stories never report much of a reason why the IGBC keeps saying this.

Wyoming relocated 22 grizzlies in 2009

22 were moved, 4 killed, and three put in zoos-

State relocates 22 grizzlies. By Gib Mathers. Powell Tribune as reproduced in the Casper Star-Tribune

Are there grizzly bears in Washington state?

The efforts to re-introduce grizzlies to Washington and Idaho have been stalled for political reasons

Grizzly feeding on elk © Ken Cole

Joel Connelly talks about the rate of recovery efforts for grizzly bears in the country, and specifically the North Cascades and Bitteroot Mountains of Washington, Idaho and Montana.

Are there grizzly bears in Washington state?. By Joel Connelly. Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Hunters angry over dwindling elk need historical perspective

A historical perspective on the Gallatin Canyon elk “decline” controversy-

The following is by Norman A. Bishop of Bozeman, a member of our Board and long time naturalist in the Greater Yellowstone area of Montana.

– – – – – –
Hunters angry over dwindling elk need historical perspective

“Hunters vent anger over dwindling elk” in Gallatin Canyon (Chronicle, Dec. 4) took me back a few decades to an insightful 44-page Montana Fish and Game Department report by Allan L. Lovaas, “People and the Gallatin Elk Herd.”  In that 1970 report, Lovaas chronicles the history of the area, its elk, and the many factors affecting their numbers. The factors he lists include hunting (including for the market), trapping and feeding (elk), eliminating predators, removing Indians, grazing of livestock, controlling wildfires, creating wildlife preserves Yellowstone), and, mostly, through permitting the herd to burgeon out of control on its depleted range.

FWP biologists Kenneth Hamlin and Julie Cunningham compiled comprehensive report in 2009, “Monitoring and assessment of wolf- ungulate interactions and population trends within the GreaterYellowstone Area, southwestern Montana, and statewide.”  Item 4 in their Executive Summary is: “The number of grizzly bears in Southwest Montana and the GYA has increased more than 3-fold since 1987, concurrently with the increase in wolf numbers, affecting the total elk predation rate.”  And item 8, “In areas with high predator (grizzly bear and wolf) to prey ratios, …elk numbers have declined…”

In a 2003-2004 study, researchers noted that predation, hunting, and drought contributed to a decline of elk in northern Yellowstone.  They traced 151 newborn elk calves for 30 days, and found that predators caused more than 90% of their deaths.  Bears killed 55-60%; coyotes and wolves each took 10-15%.  The authors said it remains to be seen if wolf predation is additive to other mortality sources.

Lovaas saw the larger picture in 1970, and so do astute wildlife managers today.  They recognize the rarity in natural systems of single-cause effects, and don’t just blame wolves.

Norman A. Bishop

Bozeman, MT 59715

Grizzlies On the Move, Back to the Wide-Open Prairie

As many as 70 to 80 grizzlies may inhabit the high plains east of the Rocky Mountain Front-

There is more about grizzlies moving east of the Rocky Mountains in Montana, out on the high plains. The article below appeared in New West.

Grizzlies On the Move, Back to the Wide-Open Prairie. By Jason D.B. Kauffman

On the Rocky Mountain Front, Montana. Copyright Ralph Maughan

Judge Molloy rejects feds request to reconsider his relisting of the Yellowstone area grizzly bear

So feds, live with it and start protecting the bear’s habitat better-

link fixed! Judge keeps Yellowstone grizzly on threatened list. AP

Poll: Montanans support grizzly bear ESA protection, Tester’s Wilderness bill, and the wolf hunt

Scientific survey shows thumbs up for Schweitzer, Tester, Rehberg; big drop for Baucus-

Story in the Missoulian. Baucus’ approval rating among Montanans drops by 20 percent. By Matt Gouras. Associated Press

In any survey, it is good to look at the actual questions. Here are the full survey results.

$11,000 now the offer for info on poaching of huge MT grizzly

This is a brief, but important update on the story we ran earlier this year on the 800 pound grizzly poached on the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana.

Reward now $11,000 for information about grizzly poaching. Great Falls Tribune staff.
Here is the original story from the blog. Giant, 800 pound grizzly illegally killed on the Rocky Mountain Front

– – – – – –
Editor’s comment on poaching stories.

On another thread, some are arguing that there is a rash of poaching going on. I don’t know that this is true. Simply reporting more poaching stories can create this impression. The number of stories on a subject and the amount of trouble actually going on are loosely related at best.

It is well known that the American media’s focus on reporting crime stories led to a public perception of a crime wave for a decade or longer after actual crime in the U.S.  had peaked and gone into steady decline. In the meantime politicians jumped on the bandwagon. They passed a number of draconian laws after the problem was getting under control. We still live we some of these laws. Some have a great monetary expense. An example is  “three strikes and you’re out.”

Added 11-11. This morning’s Missoulian has an article by Michael Jamison on the shooting of the big grizzly (Maximus). The article is long compared to the original in the Great Falls Tribune, and it  has a long discussion about why so much poaching.  So whether poaching is really increasing or not, the article shows the some major Montana media believes it is. This could have favorable consequences by fueling more resources for this crime. Story: Reward for grizzly ‘Maximus’ poacher raised to more than $11,000. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.

Another grizzly shot in Montana

Hunter shoots a rare Cabinet Mountains grizzly bear-

Man shoots Cabinet Mountains grizzly. Montana FWP says it was self-defense. AP

Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team — raise GYE grizzly mortality limits?

IGBC has hard time understanding Judge Molloy ruled against them not because of grizzly mortality, but lack of food for grizzly in the area-

Perhaps the bear population could withstand more deaths; and, hey why not acquiesce with what is already happening? Bear bureaucrats could call that “adaptive management.” However, Judge Molloy didn’t relist the greater Yellowstone grizzly because too many bears were being killed. Oh well, here’s the story . . .

Link fixed! Grizzly group [IGBC] eyes raising bear death limits. Conservationists contest idea that more bruins could die without hurting regional population. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

And grizzly conservation groups need to push not so much on holding down the mortality limits as enlarging the great bear’s primary conservation area.

Wyoming legislation might require GYE backcountry users to have bear spray

Spike in unhappy grizzly encounters in Greater Yellowstone could result in bill-

While pepper spray isn’t always the answer in an encounter with a grizzly, most often it is with lots of benefits to humans and bears.

Bear spray bill on the way. Proposal would require permitted backcountry users in griz country to carry pepper spray. By Cory Hatch.  Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Grizzlies home on range – again

For all those discouraged folks out there, I think this f- – – – ing wonderful!

Grizzlies home on range – again. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer.

Is anyone interested that grizzlies are abundant enough and northern Montana empty enough that grizzlies are spilling out onto the plains?

October was a bad month for grizzly bears in NW Montana

October is always bad; this year worse.

Even so,  NW Montana grizzly mortality is low compared to that in Greater Yellowstone. It’s pretty clear to me that the Yellowstone grizzly needed to be put back on the list, just as Judge Molloy did. Fortunately, grizzly deaths are down this year in the Greater Yellowstone.

Grizzly bears fared poorly this October in Montana.  By Rob Chaney. The Missoulian

Bear Committee turns into jays; scolds Judge Molloy

Results of the Yellowstone Grizzly Coordinating Committee meeting Jackson, WY-

I think we see the real reason they are upset that the judge relisted the grizzly bear in this statement:

“Fremont County [Wyoming] Commissioner Pat Hickerson echoed Schwartz and several other commissioners when he said grizzly bears have begun to expand into areas where their presence is incompatible with activities such as producing livestock.” [emphasis mine]. Once again, it’s the local noblemen who are upset.

Story on “the scolds” By Corey Hatch, Jackson Hole Daily.

French Male [grizzly] Bears In Immediate Need Of More Females

The small population may be the cause of its own collapse without more females . . . STAT-

There aren’t many French brown [ursus arctos] bears left. What are have a badly distorted ratio in favor of males.  This might be the result of chance, the result of inbreeding, or male bears competing with each other by killing females’ cubs, but the only solution seems to be a quick trans-location of female bears into France.

French Male Bears In Immediate Need Of More Females. ScienceDaily.

Another grizzly found clawless

Poached bear found on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of the Rocky Mountain Front-

Another grizzly found clawless. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer

Just for reference. This bear was part of the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem grizzly bear population, the largest grizzly population in the lower 48 states (more bears than greater Yellowstone).

In B.C.’s wilderness, where the wild things aren’t

Lots of grizzly bears have been killed in B.C.’s Bella Coola River valley-

Six years ago Jackie and I took a special trip to Bella Coola to see bears. We did, but it was clear the locals didn’t appreciate their value.

Mark Hume. In B.C.’s wilderness, where the wild things aren’t. The Globe and Mail.

Paradise Valley hunter mauled by grizzly bear

This one may not have serious injury to the hunter-

I want to note that JerryB posted a version this story as a comment earlier, but it isn’t good to post an entire story because they are copyrighted.

Paradise Valley hunter mauled by grizzly bear. By Ben Pierce. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer. One hunter seems to have been mauled briefly as the bear was running from the other hunter. Back in the days of good whitebark pine crops at this time of year grizzlies would be up very high, not down among the gut piles. At least I think this might be part of what is going on here.

State and federal bear offcials to meet and discuss Molloy’s ruling adding griz back to list

Meeting on how to respond to the relisting of Yellowstone area griz set for Oct. 28-9-

Hopefully they will do more than complain and say the judge was wrong.

Story. Associated Press.

A second story. Pheasant hunter shoots grizzly sow

The 3 cubs were in good shape and couldn’t be trapped. In addition, there is yet another sow with 3 cubs in the area!

Rather than some marginal glade far from grizzly country (the Eldorado Grove), this sounds like grizzly central at this time of year where the bears are fat and cubs do well.

Here is a followup story in the Choteau Acantha. Pheasant hunter shoots grizzly sow

Bird hunter kills sow grizzly north of Choteau

Unfortunately she had three cubs-

Choteau (show toe). This took place on the plains on the Rocky Mountain Front. Despite the mention of Teton County, it is Teton County, Montana not Teton County, Wyoming or Idaho. This pheasant hunter was from Alaska.

Story: Bird hunter kills sow grizzly north of Choteau. Choteau Arcantha.

The grizzly cubs won’t likely make it.

Griz attacks hunter; hunter’s companion shoots at bear, hits other hunter

No word on the condition of shot hunter in incident near Cooke City, MT-

I’m surprised this hasn’t happened more often. The news story so far is sketchy.

Here is a little more (newer) information. Man Attacked by bear near Cooke City, MT.

Servheen: Grizzlies in more danger on threatened species list

Greater Yellowstone Coalition’s attorney calls Servheen’s statement to the court “absurd”-

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking judge Molloy to reverse his decision to put the Yellowstone area grizzly back on the threatened species list. The coordinator of the federal grizzly recovery program, Chris Servheen, controversial long-time coordinator of the Yellowstone grizzly record program, argued that relisting bears would somehow hurt them. This seems silly on the surface. I’d like to read his declaration to see how he makes this argument.

Servheen: Grizzlies in more danger on threatened species list. Matthew Brown. AP

Controversial Grizzly Bear Death A Family Tragedy

An Obituary For Bear 615-

This is a story about the recent killing of the grizzly in Ditch Creek. For several reasons that posting caused quite a stir on the blog

The feature article below is written by Todd Wilkinson who has a new web site I was not aware of — Wildlife Art Journal It looks interesting.

Controversial Grizzly Bear Death A Family Tragedy. An Obituary For Bear 615. By Todd Wilkinson.

Wyoming Game and Fish: Grizzly Bears doing well

State game agency says grizzlies will find something else to eat even though whitebark pine are mostly dead-

State: Bears doing well. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole Daily.

“Game and Fish officials acknowledged that mountain pine beetle activity continues at relatively high levels and many whitebark pine trees have died. But they said bears usually find alternative foods such as deer and elk meat.”

WY G&F fails to note that grizzly bears in the area are already the most carnivorous in North America. They are right, however, there really are other foods, of course. The local landed noblemen will probably object to grizzlies eating the livestock.

Female Grizzly Relocated to Cabinet Mtns of NW Montana

The relocation is another in a series of transplants to bolster the weak grizzly population of the Cabinet-Yaak-

Bear managers have been releasing about one new grizzly each year into the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear recovery area of extreme NW Montana. This smallish recovery area has no connection to NW Montana’s Northern Continental Divide grizzly area (the country’s biggest population) or Idaho and Eastern Washington’s beleaguered Selkirk grizzly recovery area.

This transplant, like most of the others, came from the Northern Continental Divide bear population. She was trapped in the Whitefish Mountains just west of Glacier National Park to be released further west in the Cabinets.

Female Grizzly Relocated to Cabinet Mtns of NW Montana. Flathead Beacon. AP

Wyoming Game & Fish investigates grizzly shooting in Ditch Creek

Hunting season for deer and elk is underway (partially) in Wyoming, and already the grizzlies are going down-

Ditch Creek is just east of the middle section of Grand Teton National Park.

Wyoming Game & Fish Department investigates grizzly shooting. Star Valley Independent

Fed judge says Greater Yellowstone grizzlies must go back on list!

Grizzly feeding on elk © Ken Cole

GYE grizzly bears go back on the threatened species list-

Molloy: Feds must restore protection for grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park – By Matthew Brown. Associated Press. The successful plaintiff was the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. There is a second lawsuit filed in Idaho by a number of other conservation groups. It was assigned to Judge Lodge. No decision was been made by the court.

The headline in Brown’s story is misleading because the order to relist is not just for Yellowstone Park, but for the much larger area around the Park — the “greater” Yellowstone, and relisting’s effect for this area is where most of the controversy lies.

U.S. judge reverses Bush, puts grizzlies on endangered [threatened] list. By Rocky Barker. Idaho Statesman

Read the judge’s Order

Grizzly Bears had remained on the list in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and the Cabinet-Yaak (both in NW Montana). They have also remained on the list in the Selkirk (Northern Idaho and NE Washington state), the Selway-Bitterroot in central Idaho where there are no bears, and the North Cascades where there are a handful of bears up in northwest Washington against the B.C. border.  However, the grizzlies of Yellowstone and the adjacent area are the best known population in the lower 48.

The numerous threats to grizzly bear food sources, especially whitebark pine, were a major factor in Judge Molloy’s decision.

Earthjustice’s Press Release :

2009 Bear Spray Campaign Endangers Hunters, Grizzlies

David Smith urges IGBC to change its bear spray campaign slogan to “Carry bear spray and know when to use it.”

Smith urges what might seem to be subtle but very important change in the way the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee educates hunters about bear spray.  However, for 2009 the IGBC is using the same arguments as it has for years.

2009 Bear Spray Campaign Endangers Hunters, Grizzlies. Unfiltered By David Smith in New West.

Rocky Mountain Front grizzlies are in the river bottoms

Hunters and hikers should take special note-

This time of year, many grizzlies take to forested river bottoms that lead eastward out from the Front,* such as the Teton River, Sun River, etc.

River bottom grizzlies spark warnings to hunters. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune.

– – – –

*The Front is the name given the abrupt rise of the Rocky Mountains out of the plains of northwest central Montana.

Grizzly mauls sheepherder; kills dogs, sheep

Are the wilds of the Upper Green a place for sheep?

By Ken Cole and Ralph Maughan

Grizzly mauls sheepherder; kills dogs, sheep. By Joy Ufford with Derek Farr. Sublette Examiner

Domestic Sheep © Ken Cole

This is bad. A poor shepherd got seriously hurt. With all the media attention on sheep ranchers there is too little attention to the men who do most of the work, usually living lives of isolation in remote areas often far from their native lands. The article says that the injured herder, Marcello Tejeda, is from Rock Springs. We hope he was given health insurance as part of his contract.

The upper Green River country is some of  America’s scenic and wilderness wonderland. For twenty years now it has been in process of reclamation by the great bear and wolves. Grizzly bears were not moved into the area like the sheep’s owned was quoted. They gradually reinhabited the area completely on their own.

Cattle and sheep eat the forage that could support more elk. Livestock trample the banks of steams that splash thousands of feet down from glaciers of the Wind Rivers or the lingering snowspatches high in the Gros Ventre Mountains.

With all of the losses the owner claims to have had due to predators doesn’t it beg obvious questions? Why graze your sheep here and should taxpayers have to pay for predator control, and other subsidies so you can continue. Is this an appropriate place to graze sheep, a basically defenseless animal?

I think we know what will become to these now unattended and scattered sheep.

Late afternoon in Tosi Creek at the eastern edge of the Gros Ventre Wilderness. The attack was described to have taken place in this general area. The day after I took this photo, I saw 6 different black bears while I was backpacking. That was in the 1990s. Now grizzlies have replaced many of the big black bears. Photo copyright Ralph Maughan

Will grizzly bear deaths be so high again this year that Yellowstone grizzlies go back on the threatened species list?

Good vegetation conditions this year should keep grizzly deaths down, but it’s not clear that they are-

Another year like 2008  and the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear population goes back on the threatened species list.

Federal, state wildlife agencies launch campaign to prevent grizzly bear killings. By Matthew Brown. Associated Press.

Coexistence with grizzlies is generally a success in Montana

Feature article says that despite notable incidents and failures, grizzly recovery in NW Montana is successful-

Knowledge to coexist: For most part, industry succeeds in informing people about bruins. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.

Darted grizzly cub died of ruptured jugular vein

Vein was not hit by the tranquilizer dart-

They have been unable to find out how the vein ruptured.

Story in the Daily InterLake. Darted grizzly cub died of internal bleeding

Annual scientific trapping of Eastern Idaho grizzly bears underway

Not for control, but for population monitoring-

There aren’t many grizzlies in Eastern Idaho. They are pretty much confined to the Targhee portion of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest up against Yellowstone Park and Grand Teton Park. Their range is slowly expanding.  For example, grizzlies used to be found only north of Badger Creek up against Grand Teton, but now they are occasionally found all the way to the southern tip of the West Slope of the Tetons.*  They are also slowly reoccupying the Idaho/Montana border (which is also the Continental Divide).

Annual scientific grizzly bear trapping to begin. By Gregg Losinski. River City Weekly (Idaho Falls, ID)

– – –

Actually the southern tip of the Tetons is in Wyoming.

Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bear MOU between Montana, Idaho and Wyoming

Very important. You can comment until August 12-

Send your comments to Attn: Wildlife
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
POB 200701
Helena MT 59620-0701
fwpwld@mt.gov

This MOU paves the way for sport hunting of grizzly bears in this large delisted population. This splits the “discretionary” mortality (surplus) bears between the three states. It might be meaningless because there has been no surplus of late. Instead, the grizzly will possibly be put back on the threatened species list in the Greater Yellowstone. It depends on how many more bears are killed this year. On the other hand, if accidental and illegal deaths decline, this could be meaningful.

This has been under the radar for me. Below is the Memorandum of Understanding.

_______________

Draft

June 2009

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING REGARDING THE MANAGEMENT AND ALLOCATION OF Discretionary MORTALITY OF GRIZZLY BEARS FOR HUNTING IN THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM

Between

Wyoming Game and Fish Commission,

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and

Idaho Department of Fish and Game

This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is made and entered into by and between the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission (WGFD), Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) and Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), collectively referred to as the Parties.

I.  Purpose

The purpose of this MOU is to define the process by which the Parties will coordinate annual efforts to develop recommendations for the allocation of discretionary mortality, if any, of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem for hunting consistent with the Final Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy for the Greater Yellowstone Area and state management plans.

II.  Background

The Final Conservation Strategy for Grizzly Bears in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) establishes maximum allowable mortality limits for adult male and female, as well as dependent young, grizzly bears in the ecosystem to ensure the entire population maintains an overall growth rate equal to, or greater than zero.  The Conservation Strategy incorporates state management plans that have different, but compatible, management objectives for the three state parties.  Specifically, the state of Wyoming’s objective is to limit further expansion of the population in size and distribution per “Grizzly Bear Occupancy Management Following Delisting as a Threatened Species” (2005).  The states of Idaho and Montana have an objective of allowing the population to expand into biologically suitable and socially acceptable areas.

The Parties are committed to minimizing the amount of grizzly bear mortality due to conflict with human activities and defense of life and property or other management removals, collectively referred to as “non-discretionary mortality.”  To the extent non-discretionary mortality can be held below the maximum allowable levels for the entire Yellowstone population, “discretionary mortality” outside of the National Parks could be available for allocation to other purposes, including translocation to other ecosystems, or hunter harvest as provided for in the Conservation Strategy, state plans, state laws, and regulations.

Wyoming whitebark pine cone crop looking good

Vigorous production of cones spells very good news for grizzly bears-

Although the majority of whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone has died off or burned in recent years, there are still enough for the grizzlies in those years when conditions are optimal for cone production.

There is a long and strong data set showing fewer grizzlies die in conflicts with humans during years of good whitebark seed production because the bears are at high altitude during the critical months when they are trying to put on winter fat and hunting season is taking place outside Grand Teton and Yellowstone Parks.

Whitebark pine cone crop looking good. “High-protein food could help reduce conflicts between grizzlies, hunters this fall”. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Island Park Grizzly that Attacked Hound Hunter Found Alive and Well with Her 3 Cubs.

Idaho Fish and Game Press Release

Grizzly with cubs © Ken Cole

Date: July 13, 2009
Contact: Ed Mitchell
(208) 334-3700

Bear Who Bit Hunter Located

DNA is a powerful tool.

Preliminary results of saliva from one of the bite marks where a female grizzly bear bit a hunter on June 28 returned a match to a radio-collared grizzly with three cubs.

The hunter was one of three eastern Idaho black bear hunters who got an unpleasant surprise on the morning of June 28 when their hounds surrounded a female grizzly with cubs.

The bear took after the hunters, knocked down Keith Klingler, 38 of Idaho Falls, bit him on the right arm and tossed him around. His brother, Eric Klingler dug his .44-caliber Magnum handgun out of his pack and took a shot at the bear, deliberately firing high to avoid hitting his brother.

He may have missed or only inflicted a flesh wound. A scheduled Idaho Fish and Game grizzly bear monitoring flight in early July in the same area located the collared bear and her three young cubs. All four appeared fine, said Daryl Meints, regional wildlife manager for the Upper Snake Region of Idaho Fish and Game.

Keith Klingler was treated at Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg for lacerations to his right arm. He had no other apparent injuries.

The Klingler brothers and Corey Raichart, all three from the Idaho Falls area, were hunting black bears with hounds on Bishop Mountain near Harriman State Park. They released their hounds on a scent, and the dogs soon surrounded what the men thought was a black bear. When they arrived, they quickly realized they had a grizzly.

The hunters reported seeing two cubs with the female grizzly. None of them noticed whether the bear was wearing a radio-collar.

Fish and Game officials will continue weekly monitoring from the air, but they do not plan to track the bear on the ground unless they get a mortality signal. Officials also recommend that anyone heading into the backcountry carry bear spray.

Bridger-Teton National Forest to map beetle-killed whitebark pine

It’s critical for grizzly bear management to see where pine bark beetles have not killed this extremely valuable, bear food source in the Greater Yellowstone-

Bridger-Teton to map beetle-killed whitebark. Forest Service partners with conservation group to quantify the damage. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Great News! More oil, gas leases retired along the Rocky Mountain Front

In 2006, Congress banned leasing federal lands on the Front, but many leases had already been given-

The effort to protect Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front from natural gas development has been and continues to be pretty successful. These oil, gas leases along the Front were the work of two NGOs, The Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front and Trout Unlimited.

The leases were bought from Donald Curry of Curry & Thornton of Ft. Worth, Texas.

This is very important grizzly bear habitat and deer, elk and moose spring, fall and winter range.

Leases Retired. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer

More on this. Added July 8, 2009. New lease arrangement advances preservation of Front. Great Falls Tribune.

Young grizzlies out on the plains, east of Interstate 15 in Montana

Is the move out of the mountains due to the long winter and wet spring?

We’ve been talking about grizzly south of Interstate 90 in Idaho,  but a more obvious movement is the presence of two or more grizzly bears out on the plains, well east of the Rocky Mountain front.

Young grizzlies push farther eastward. By Michael Babcock.  Tribune Outdoor Editor • Great Falls Tribune.

Hiker with pistol and spray survives encounter with grizzly sow with cubs

Boise, Idaho man said attack happened too fast to use either when he surprised the bears-

Fortunately he was able to walk 4 miles to the trailhead.

Update: the original story has been replaced by a much more detailed one below.

Boise man in hospital following griz attack. By Karin Ronnow. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

. . . and there have been more recent encounters.

Two Alberta men recovering from grizzly attack. Edmunton Journal. They were searching for elk antlers. A lot of grizzly bear attacks have happened to those looking too intently for elk antlers while in grizzly country.

Glacier National Park jogger survives grizzly attack. Missoulian. By Jim Mann in the Daily InterLake. The jogger forgot his pepper spray. At any rate, jogging on trails in dense grizzly country like Glacier National Park is not a good idea.

Interagency Grizzly Bear Team tells ways to reduce Yellowstone GBear mortality

Report issued due to the 2008 spike in Greater Yellowstone grizzly deaths-

Numerous methods are identified, but a smaller number give more “bank for the buck” (the buck being not so much money as political or cultural resistance).

Yellowstone Mortality and Conflicts Reduction Report. IGBST. June 5, 2009

Note: I hope discussion of this doesn’t result in another long debate over pepper spray. RM

Note 2. We had a long discussion on “Greater Yellowstone grizzly deaths pass lethal limit under delisting,” beginning last November (2008).

Grizzlies flunk test to open new kind of camp cooler

Breaking and entering experts at West Yellowstone Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center can’t open (or smash) new coolers-

Although the problem solving can be tough for the bears at the Discovery Center, they usually manage to pry open, squash, or mangle a food container given them, but certain coolers made by Yeti Coolers and by Engel USA have proven to be bear proof.

Story: Grizzly Bear-Tested Camping Coolers Approved By Government. By Susan Gallagher. Huffington Post. AP

New grizzly bear plans released for Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains

Comments will be taken until June 22-

Grizzly protection proposed. Plan would limit public’s access. Becky Kramer. Spokesman-Review

It is irritating that the headline for the new plan to save the grizzlies in these two disjunctive grizzly populations of northern Idaho and NW Montana should be negative in tone. After a  brief  look at the plan, to me it appears it will open up about as many miles of roads and routes as it will close. Why stress the minor difference? The rejected alternative, alternative D, which would do more for the bears, would close many hundreds of miles of roads and routes.

The estimated bear population for the two areas is 86 in total. They are separate areas. The bears never, or rarely, move from one to the other. Nor do they connect with the larger grizzly area called the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (Glacier National Park, Bob Marshall Wilderness, etc.).

Here is a link to the plan itself.

Doug and Andrea Peacock on Montana’s Grizzly Bears, the Late Edward Abbey and the Fight to Save the Wilderness

Democracy Now!, broadcasting from Bozeman, MT, interviews Doug and Andrea Peacock.

Doug & Andrea Peacock on Montana’s Grizzly Bears, the Late Edward Abbey and the Fight to Save the Wilderness
Democracy Now!

JUAN GONZALEZ: Yes. Doug Peacock, I’d like to ask you, you’ve been, in some of your writing and in your interviews of late, critical of the current environmental conservation movement in the country. Could you talk about your concerns about where you see it’s gone wrong?

DOUG PEACOCK: Yeah. Largely, I think it’s tried to be too polite, too nice. It’s tried to work with administrations like the Bush administration. It’s tried to work with corporations and energy companies. And quite frankly, we can’t do that anymore. I mean, the earth is in terrible shape. I mean, the life-support systems of air and ocean and temperature are going to pot in a hurry. And, you know, we’ve seen extinction of species unprecedented. Even during the end of the Cretaceous, when there was the great paleo-extinction that did in the dinosaurs, today’s rate is right there.

Quite frankly, we’re not radical enough. We’re not angry enough. We’re not militant enough. I mean, this should not be just a weekend meeting we go to. This should be the heart of our lives, and that’s a lot to ask, I know. They’re tough times. But the earth just doesn’t need it. We, as a species, our own survival, I believe, is also up for grabs, just like the grizzlies. And, you know, to survive is natural. We humans are so separated from, you know, the saber tooth that used to lurk in the bushes and the grizzly on the mountain, that I don’t think we get what’s in our long-term self-interest for survival.

Amy Goodman from Democracy Now! will appear in Boise, Idaho tonight at a benefit for Boise Community Radio. Tickets are available here: http://radioboise.org/news.html

Researchers blame grizzly deaths on hunters, climate change

Grizzlies are expanding their range due to the death of whitebark pine and they increasingly get shot-

Researchers blame grizzly deaths on hunters, climate change. By Matthew Brown. Associated Press

Fortunately the evidence seems to be that their population around Yellowstone is still growing.

Study to probe effect of climate change on Yellowstone grizzlies

The less time in the den, the more bears are killed, especially in the fall-

Although grizzlies are now coming out of their dens, quite slowly this year because of deep snow, it may be that recent warm years have delayed the onset of their annual winter hibernation.

Now a study is underway to ascertain the details of den entrance and emergence and compare them to temperature and snowfall.

Autumn is the most dangerous time for the grizzly, doubly so now with the decline in high altitude whitebark pine nut “crop” due to the hot fires of 1988,  the spread of whitebark pine blister rust (a non-native disease) and a general die-off of pines of all species in the Rocky Mountains.

The longer bears are denned up, the fewer are killed during the year.

Study to research effect of climate change on denning. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer.

Rocky Mountain Front grizzlies emerging late

Deep snow keeps bears in longer than recent years-

Where are all the grizzly bears? Great Falls Tribune. By Karl Puckett.

The article says bears are coming out quite late in Yellowstone too.

37 griz killings spark worry

If last year’s high mortality is repeated this year then Greater Yellowstone grizzlies may go back onto the Endangered Species List

Grizzly cub near Pelican Valley ©Ken Cole

37 griz killings spark worry. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Addition 4/10/2009. Rise in grizzly deaths topic of IGBT meeting. Associated Press.

2008 Interagency Grizzly Bear Report for Yellowstone has been published

Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Investigations 2008. PDF file. Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team.

The report is not just Yellowstone National Park, but for most of the much larger Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

B.C. extends its no grizzly-hunt zone by 1.9 million hectares

B.C. defends reduced grizzly hunt. B.C. has extended its protected areas but will still allow a limited-entry hunt. By Tom Fletcher – BC Local News.
www.firstpeople.us

Grizzlies using Banff NP wildlife crossing structures more each year

Five crossings by grizzlies in 1996 have grown to 177 last summer-

Grizzlies using highway crossings. By Cathy Ellis. Rocky Mountain Outlook. They clearly are working.

It would be nice if some of stimulus money here in the U.S. went into wildlife crossings. They are as shovel ready as other highway projects.

Yellowstone bears emerging from slumber

It’s that time of year again.

Grizzly feeding on elk. © Ken Cole

Yellowstone bears emerging from slumber
Associated Press

2008 grizzly bear mortality in NCDE

Not a bad year for grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, unlike the Greater Yellowstone-

Thirteen grizzlies were known to have died, eleven were human caused. Is it significant that the grizzly in the NCDE is still listed as a “threatened species” and the Greater Yellowstone population has been delisted?

Graphical display of 2008 NCDE grizzly mortality. (pdf file)

Grizzlies spotted in Manitoba

Grizzlies had been extinct in Manitoba-

Grizzlies spotted in Manitoba. Bartley Kives, Winnipeg Free Press

More of a perennial problem — trains, grain, and grizzlies

Banff: Grizzly at risk again near mountain train tracks-

Grizzly at risk again near mountain train tracks. By Jason Markusoff; With Files From Jamie Komarnicki. Calgary Herald.

Greater Yellowstone grizzly debate heats up-

So, we’re back to an old controversy; what is the true population and its trend?

Greater Yellowstone grizzly debate heats up. By Chris Merrill. Casper Star Tribune.

I know Dave Moody (trophy game coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department) couldn’t possibly be right about the poor whiteback pine nut crop being part of a natural cycle. It’s well known the whitebark pine trees have largely died. There are a variety of reasons, but this is not part of a cycle. It is the end of the nuts as a major food source.

Most bears around Jackson Hole have denned

Two faces on the bear situation in NW Wyoming for 2008-

2008 was good for Jackson Hole bears, and there were few conflicts; but grizzlies took a big mortality hit in NW Wyoming overall. Nevertheless, the total grizzly population grew slightly . . . kind of complicated.

• Story in Jackson Hole News and Guide. Bears head into dens; conflicts down in ’08. Plentiful berry crop kept bruins busy, experts say. By Cory Hatch Jackson Hole, Wyo.
• Grizzly deaths up. Written by Gib Mathers, Powell (WY) Tribune
  

Bears by the Numbers, Keeping Tabs on Our Bruins

Recalling some famous Wyoming grizzly bears-

Bears by the Numbers. By Brodie Farquhar. Wyofile. com