Grizzly Delisting…here we are again

The proposed delisting of grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide and Greater Yellowstone ecosystems is making headlines as the US Fish and Wildlife Service launched a 12-month study to determine if these bears no longer need protecting.  If delisted, the states of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho have stated intentions of implementing a grizzly bear hunt.

For the Love of Bears is not opposed to scientifically sound, ethical, and sustainable hunting programs that do not compromise the future of a species’ survival. We believe that such programs should be strictly managed and enforced not only to ensure the future of the species but also to ensure ethical, humane hunting practices and to stimulate local conservation efforts and communities. 

We do not believe that these proposed hunts meet these standards.  Grizzly bears are one of the slowest reproducing animals on the planet, and also one of the most affected by human presence and development.  Grizzlies, once numbering in over 50,000 across the western US and western plains, have been reduced to 3% of their historic range and less than 2,000 animals between the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the latter of the two being an island population without any connection to their northern relatives. This hardly feels like a recovery. Reports state that bear numbers have grown to over a 1000 bears in the greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  What seems lost is that a 2021 updated to the model Federal scientist use to estimate grizzly populations led to a 34-43% jump in estimated population. When this change was made Interagency Grizzly Bear Study team leader Frank van Manen stated “An important point here is that, on the ground, nothing has changed”(LINK), but in the political arena, this is being called “growth”.  There are many other issues facing these populations as well. 

Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzlies are an island population, with highways, cities, and other developments creating a grueling barrier between them and their northern relatives. This raises concerns of genetic diversity, and that hunting pressure on an such an isolated populations would cause numbers to crash. Add to this the loss of known food sources such as whitebark pine nuts and increased human development reaching further into prime grizzly habitat, it seems these bears may still need help.

Adam Rice
Secretary of the Board
For the Love of Bears