As Population of Yellowstone Grizzlies Grows, Further Protection Debated

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: As Population of Yellowstone Grizzlies Grows, Further Protection Is Up for Debate
By JIM ROBBINS
Published: September 26, 2005


BOZEMAN, Mont. - By all accounts the turnaround of the Yellowstone grizzly is an all-too-rare success story of the Endangered Species Act.

After dwindling to 200 or so by the 1970's, the number of the big bears in the mountains and grassy meadows around Yellowstone National Park has grown to more than 600, thanks to the federal protections given to the species in 1975.

"It's the biggest success story under the Endangered Species Act because grizzly bears are one of the toughest species to manage," said Chris Servheen, who has been working on efforts to protect and to re-establish grizzlies in Yellowstone and elsewhere for 25 years and is coordinator for grizzly bear recovery for the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service in Missoula, Mont.

While there is widespread agreement that the story is a good one, however, there is disagreement on the next chapter.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, saying that the mission to bring the bear back has been accomplished, will propose removing the bear from the list of threatened species this fall and, after a comment period, make a final decision in 2006. Delisting has happened for only about 15 species out of the 1,830 on the imperiled list....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/26/national/26bear.html

[liberal N proud]

1. And what a success story

For many years we visited Yellowstone never to see a bear.
Our last trip was so fantastic, we saw 2 - 3 bears each day. It became part of our daily conquest, to see another bear.
We need to continue to protect those animals that we have driven to near extinction.
We may not know the true impact of those animals that have already been extinguished.



:bounce:

[BrklynLiberal]

2. How sad..to debate whether to protect them from the intruding people..

when it was the bears' home first.

Typical hubris.

[Mizmoon]

3. A bear ate my head once

well, he wanted to, anyway.

I'll never go camping in the deep forest again.

[RedCloud]

6. Wasn't that bearly possible?

[boise1]

4. A ranger was briefing a group of walkers in a park:

'It is possible,' he warned, 'that we will encounter a grizzly bear. However, as grizzlies usually avoid contact with humans, I suggest you attach small bells to your backpacks to signal your approach & give the bears time to retreat. If you do see any grizzly bear droppings,' he added, 'leave the area at once.'

'But how will we know if they are bear droppings?' asked one walker. 'Easy,' replied the ranger.

'Grizzly bear droppings are full of small bells.'

[shrike]

5. How 'bout this one?

Two things you should have with you in grizzly country: a .22 and a friend.

If you encounter a bear and it charges, you shoot your friend in the foot, and then you run.

[bleedingheart]

7. hahaha

that is so wrong but really funny.

I had an old boyfriend that used to camp in the wilds of Montana and he kept a rifle with him in case he encountered any animals that were not too friendly...even went so far as to have special clothes to sleep in...and he never ate in his tent or got food anywhere near his gear... kept it all in special airtight containers. Seemed like way too much work and a bit scary to me..

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

10. shrike!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: ^5

[lillilbigone]

8. 600 bears, and they're ready to declare victory?

ridiculous.... a tiny population isolated in a few parks and wilderness areas does not constitute a thriving species.

[blindpig]

9. exactly

Probably need at least 1000 breeders for long term sustainability with a good gene mix. Yellowstone proper isn't big enough to support that kind of population. The greater ecosystem might be but the demands of ranchers, miners and real estate vampires supercedes those of the original inhabitants. The foxes are running the hen house.