Grizzly Bears

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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily

A Wyoming Game and Fish Department bear biologist is praising a hiker for his reaction to a close encounter with a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park on Monday, saying the man did the right thing by staying far back from the animal.

Stan Mills is a hiker who regularly posts about his Yellowstone excursions on YouTube and on Tuesday, he uploaded a video in which he had a “friendly” grizzly bear encounter inside of the park.

“Friendly” meaning that Mills didn’t get his head ripped-off. But he was much closer to the bear than he should have been — less than 30 yards.

He said he didn’t intend to get so close. He just came upon the grizzly. Or, more accurately, it the grizzly came upon him.

“I was sitting in the rain under my poncho just kinda gazing off into the distance while resting under a tree when I took a look to my left,” Mills said on his YouTube channel.

“I immediately saw a grizzly walking towards me. I was not very visible to the bear because I was under my poncho but the grizzly finally spotted me from the movement I was making while going after my bear spay and then my camera,” he said.

An experienced hiker, Mills said he knew that one should never get within 100 yards of a bear but when surprise encounters happen, “you have no choice and you have to do the right thing.”

“As most people know, my thinking is to never do anything that can upset a grizzly. So I moved away at the opportune time. It turned out to be another great experience in the backcountry of Yellowstone,” he said.

“The Right Thing”

Dan Thompson, large carnivore biologist for the state Game and Fish Department, told Cowboy State Daily that Mills did the right thing by staying away from the bear and filming it from a reasonable distance.

“You’re trying to dissuade a surprise encounter,” Thompson said. “So if you see the bear to begin with, that’s a good thing. You don’t want to act aggressively toward a bear just standing there, because then they might act aggressively back.”

That’s similar to what noted Wyoming outdoorsman Paul Ulrich said when discussing the grizzly encounter a group of cyclists had only two days before in Glacier National Park. Except those cyclists were less than 10 yards away from a grizzly.

“Because they stayed calm, everything turned out ok,” Ulrich said.

Thompson said that while it is incredible to see wildlife such as grizzlies or moose out in the open, those recreating outdoors need to be aware of their surroundings and be prepared of a potential encounter, including carrying bear spray.

If not, it could mean negative consequences for both a person and the wild animal.

“Most people are really good about it, but there are some bad apples that take advantage of the scenario,” Thompson said.

This is not the first time Mills has encountered a grizzly in the park, as evidenced by some of his most popular videos which include grizzly footage.

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_{By Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily
All photos and video courtesy Maureen Gerber}

It wasn’t what Maureen Gerber expected when she went out on her day-after-birthday ride along the “Going-To-The-Sun” Road in Montana’s Glacier National Park with her husband and two friends Sunday.

But it was a bike ride she wouldn’t forget.  

The foursome had ridden 13 miles up to where the road was still closed due to snow and were heading back down when they were joined by a grizzly going the other way.

There was no real way to pass the bear, Gerber said.  No way around it either. On one side of the road, there was a river.  On the other side, all woods — thick woods. No cell service.

Gerber’s husband and his friend, who were in front of Gerber and another woman by a few hundred yards, had spotted the grizzly.  They went back up the road to let their wives know.

They weren’t alone.  Others had spotted the grizzly, too, and stopped.  

The group, about 15, including some children, decided to pull over at an expanded shoulder and barricade themselves behind their bikes.

“So we put our bikes down and got behind them while others stood up with their bear spray and we all made noise,” Gerber said.

“It was pretty scary,” she said.

The bear, meanwhile, looked at the cyclists but didn’t appear to give them much thought as he meandered past them.

“We were just sitting there,” Gerber said.  “Everyone was shaking.”

Except her husband. Although vigilant with bear spray in hand, he steadily took a video of the bear walking past the group.

Gerber thought the bear seemed sleepy — like he just awakened from hibernation.

“He was kind of dopey, you know?” she said. 

Not everyone is that fortunate. There has already been a fatality from a grizzly bear encounter earlier this year in Montana. And last year, a woman was dragged out of her sleeping bag by a grizzly in the middle of the night about 140 miles south of Glacier National Park.

Noted Wyoming outdoorsman Paul Ulrich said the group of bicyclists did exactly the right thing. Confronting a grizzly is the last thing one should do, he said.

“That might work with a cow or a deer,” Ulrich said. “But trying to scare off a grizzly is a bad strategy.”

He said by making “consistent noise,” not making any sudden moves, and portraying calm is what one should do in that situation.

“The last thing you want to do is jump out and try to startle a grizzly in an attempt to show dominance,” Ulrich said. “You will get slaughtered — and fast. Trust me on this.”

Throwing one of your colleagues in the grizzly’s path is another strategy, he said, but not preferred.

“More than once, I’ve been in a situation where the easiest thing to do was to shoot my friend in the knee and get out of there,” he said. “But that’s not the ideal solution. That should be your last resource.”

As for the bear encounter, Gerber said it was humbling.

Originally from New Jersey, she said she was surprised to hear from her friends who have lived in Montana their entire lives that they’ve never been that close to a grizzly.

“These guys have lived out here for 60 years and they tell me they’ve never come that close,” Gerber said. “I guess because I’m originally from the East Coast, I thought this happened all the time.  I guess it was a big deal.”

The Game and Fish Department was not available for comment.

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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is being criticized by a wildlife organization for killing 30 grizzly bears in 2021.

The department released its annual grizzly bear report this week, which showed 45 bears were captured in 2021 in 49 separate incidents. Four bears were captured more than once.

Of those 45 bears, 30 were killed by the department, with at least one being killed due to its sick and emaciated state.

In 2020, only 18 grizzlies were killed by the department, while in 2018, 32 were killed.

The report said that 17 of the 30 bears killed were found outside of the demographic monitoring area, the area considered suitable for the long-term viability of grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Bears are killed after the department receives authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “after careful and thorough deliberation taking into account multiple factors unique to each conflict situation.” Reasons for killing grizzlies include that they have grown used to getting food from human sources or that they have killed livestock.

The Center for Biological Diversity spokeswoman Andrea Zaccardi told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that it was disappointing to see the department chose to kill so many bears last year.

“Lethal removal of a grizzly bear is supposed to be a last resort,” she said. “But more than 50% of the bears that were captured were killed. So that kind of struck me as not using removal as a last resort.”

Game and Fish biologist Dan Thompson said it is never ideal when the department has to kill a bear.

“We do a lot of work to try to not capture or kill a bear,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “But the fact of the matter is with a healthy, robust, increasing grizzly population and more human use of areas that grizzly bears now occupy, there’s an increased conflict potential.”

Thompson pointed out that the department has actually seen a significant decrease in certain grizzly conflicts, such as the bears getting into garbage or causing property damage, in the last decade.

However, a significant increase in grizzly killings of livestock has occurred, Thompson said. He added the bears see livestock as a tasty and easy meal.

“You can’t capture all the work that’s done to mitigate the conflicts in the report,” he said. “The real meat of what is done throughout the course of the year is talking to livestock producers and working with people to reduce conflict potential.”

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By Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily

Although the calendar says spring is less than two weeks away, Wyomingites know better. We’re nowhere close.

But one grizzly in Yellowstone is far more optimistic and is embracing the potential of a seasonal change. The adult bear was spotted by a pilot on Monday walking in a meadow in the west-central portion of the park.

Actually, it’s not unusual for grizzlies to be spotted this early. Last year, the first reported sighting was on March 13.

Male grizzlies come out of hibernation in early while females wait until April and May to head-out.

As always, park officials are urging the public to use caution around bears lest they become statistics.

“When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter,” the park service said. “Sometimes, bears will react aggressively to encounters with people when feeding on carcasses.”

In other words, stay away from the bears. They aren’t interested in making friends.

On popular Yellowstone Facebook pages, the conversation immediately turned to the most famous bear in the world “399” and her four cubs.

Biologists say it will be a few weeks before they emerge and when they do, it’s not likely they will stay together as a family for very long.

“They’ll come out of the den together,” said Dan Thompson, large carnivore biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “They’ll spend some time together for a while, but with 2-year-olds, usually they (the mama bear) will kick them off, especially when breeding starts in June, and they’ll go their separate ways.”

But Thompson told Cowboy State Daily that this particular grizzly doesn’t always do what’s expected.

“This parent in particular seems to change things very quickly,” he said.

Bear 399 will be 26 years old this year, and Thompson noted that she may be reaching the end of her child-bearing years.

“That’s pretty old for a bear to produce, and be able to forage for them,” he said. “We have documented two females with cubs of the year at age 25 — 399 would have been 24 when she had the four cubs of the year.”

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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily

Conservation organizations had a mixed response to Gov. Mark Gordon’s request for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears from the endangered species list.

Some, like the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, applauded Gordon’s move to officially file the petition Tuesday after months of discussion of the issue.

“This organization and our members are confident in the careful management plan and protections that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has put forth to carry the grizzly bear into our future,” Jessi Johnson, government affairs director for the WWF, told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. “The grizzly bear population has well surpassed delisting objectives. Support of science-based management is a cornerstone of the Federation’s mission and we look forward to working with the WGFD to ensure that sportsmen put their best foot forward for the future of grizzly bears, grizzly bear management, and grizzly bear hunting in this state.”

The Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association said the move was “about time.”

“Of course we are in favor,” President Sy Gilliland told Cowboy State Daily. “Management of Wyoming’s wildlife belongs in the hands of the Wyoming Game & Fish Department.”

However, not all wildlife organizations were in favor of the delisting.

Andrea Zaccardi, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, called the request an attack on grizzlies.

“This outrageous request from Wyoming’s governor is the latest attack on animals like grizzly bears by states that see them as little more than targets for trophy hunters,” Andrea Zaccardi, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said on Tuesday. “There is no science to back the claim that grizzlies no longer need protection. Federal officials need to send a clear message by swiftly rejecting this request.”

On Tuesday, Gordon officially petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from the endangered species list and put their management in the hands of the surrounding states.

The petition, filed with the support of Idaho and Montana, states that grizzly bears in the region have been fully recovered, as defined by federal guidelines, since 2003.

All three members of Wyoming’s congressional delegation support delisting, with all three of them introducing some type of related legislation in Congress.

The FWS has 90 days to review the petition. At that time, the petition can be denied or approved for additional review.

If approved, the FWS can take up to 12 months to further review and analyze the state’s request and come to a final decision. 

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By Mark Davis, Powell Tribune

Grizzly bears are dying at a record pace in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, but wildlife officials say that’s a sign of a population that has reached its carrying capacity. The leader of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team said this week that, despite the deaths, the grizzly population appears to be growing.

There have been 63 known grizzly bear mortalities in the three-state area in 2021, according to the study team, with 42 deaths reported inside the primary conservation area for the species.

Of the deaths within the Demographic Monitoring Area (DMA), 30 were in Wyoming, including 18 euthanized in management decisions. There were also 21 deaths reported outside the DMA, including 13 management removals in Wyoming.

In 2018, a record 32 grizzly bears were euthanized in Wyoming in management decisions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That record could be challenged this year. The most recent report of known and suspected grizzly bear mortalities was published Nov. 4 and the ongoing hunting season, plus the species’ natural drive to fill up before hibernation, typically brings additional human-bear conflicts.

The Fish and Wildlife Service makes all final management decisions on relocations and removals of grizzly bears while they are listed for protections under the Endangered Species Act.

Wyoming Game and Fish large carnivore team leader Dan Thompson isn’t pleased with the sole focus on the number of deaths and removals.

“The use of the term ‘record’ or ‘record high’ is always used when talking about mortality, or removals,” he pointed out. “I never hear the term ‘record high’ when we give the highest population estimate … since tracking them in the 1970s, or highest occupied range of grizzly bears in the GYE since perhaps the 1800s.”

“Records without context lead to false narratives,” Thompson said, adding, “One thing that is continually lost is that there is a focus on mortality, but we don’t talk about reproduction and the several hundred cubs that are born every year and overall high survival rates.”

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team estimates the current population inside the DMA at 1,069 bears, which is a record high population estimate from the team, although the team changed how it makes the estimates in the spring. The low side of their estimate is 953 bears, with a high of 1,184.

Population estimates are not kept outside the conservation zone, but grizzly bears euthanized outside the DMA account for about a third of all lethal removals, according to Frank van Manen, leader of the study team.

Despite the recent removals inside the DMA, van Manen said data shows an increasing population in the ecosystem.

“If you look at the dependent yearling cubs, there are well over 300, and that indicates really solid recruitment into this population,” he said at a Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee meeting Monday.

Overall mortality is still within set limits for the species, he said. “Our mortality rates were below a threshold of 5.7% for independent females and 8.1% of independent males.”

The subcommittee works in cooperation with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, an interdisciplinary group of scientists and biologists responsible for long-term monitoring and research efforts on grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The team was formed by the Department of the Interior in 1973, with representatives from the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribal Fish and Game Department, and the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. 

The interagency approach was used to ensure consistency in data collection and allows for combining limited resources to address needs throughout grizzly bear habitat. However, they are not a governing body or legal authority, said Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Jennifer Fortin-Noreus.

While managers are sometimes forced to turn to euthanizations, there are several non-lethal programs in progress including electric fencing and hazing efforts.

Mike Foster, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services in Wyoming, said his agency is working on a hazing wagon to help control conflicts.

“It will help for the first few days or a week until we can figure out something else to do,” he said.

Cody Regional Health

Foster picked up the idea from the Park County Predator Management Advisory Board, including board member Shane Smith of Powell. Solar panels power the trailers, which are set by timers to activate periodically during the night. Building the apparatus in the back of a trailer allows it to be moved to fields as needed to stem livestock losses.

Meanwhile, “We’ve strung miles and miles of electric fence around chicken coops, and feed yards and pig pens, and you name it,” said Jim White, Idaho Department of Fish and Game regional supervisor.

He added that, “this non lethal work has prevented a tremendous amount of damage and saved a lot of control work.”

Public comments sought for changes to grizzly bear conservation strategy

As more and more visitors pour into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the need for services and developed spaces increases. More development might seem to be a conflict for officials charged with conserving grizzly bears and their habitat, but they are aware of the needs of the ever- increasing stream of humanity heading this direction and what it means to the endangered species.

Soon the two efforts will meet, as proposed policy changes in the region’s conservation strategy are likely to be updated for the first time in more than a dozen years. The changes allow for more overnight visitors, improvements in developed areas and along roads, as well as other changes to infrastructure within core grizzly bear habitat known as the Demographic Monitoring Area (DMA).

The Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team is poised to have a final vote on changes this spring, after a working draft was presented for public comment during the group’s fall session on Tuesday.

Those seeking to comment on the draft revisions for Chapter 3 have had lots of time to consider their input. The debate has been active since 2016 and seemingly lingering in bureaucracy since.

About 98% of grizzly habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the boundaries of the recovery zone falls within the borders of national parks and forests. The proposed plan gains ground without a net loss of grizzly habitat, said Jennifer Fortin-Noreus, biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

The change is in how developed areas are calculated. Instead of requiring mitigation for every change of one of hundreds of points on a map, each development is measured by its actual footprint. Space for further development is realized within the spatial constraints of the footprints. 

The undeveloped areas “aren’t areas of secure habitat [for grizzlies] at this point,” Fortin-Noreus said. “[Footprints] more accurately define human presence and management intent.”

She also pointed out that, while managers are in charge of protecting habitat, they can’t turn off the increasing stream of visitors.

“We don’t control increased visitation on the national forest,” she said. “We don’t have some automatic way to tell people to stop coming.”

The plan allows for some development without actually requiring the use of tracts of non-developed land. “It gives us the management tools to focus some of our use and concentration in those [realized] areas, and perhaps not in our dispersed sites that can cause more impact,” Fortin-Noreus said.

Those working on the plan see a lot of upside for managers and visitors alike.

“I think it is a really good product,” said Tricia O’Connor, supervisor of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. 

“[It] is trying to thread that needle around, having some management flexibility around developed sites, but doing it carefully with some oversight so that it’s not just you can do whatever you want, wherever you want.”

While the plan was discussed in a public, online meeting, the committee didn’t take formal public comments after the presentation, but did take questions. Bonnie Rice, senior representative for the Sierra Club’s Greater Yellowstone/Northern Rockies campaign, Rice was the only member of the public to speak during the open mic period. She said that more people making overnight stays “obviously raises the number of potential conflicts.”

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By Wendy Corr, Cowboy State Daily

The grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has never been larger than it is now.

That’s according to the supervisor for the large carnivore section of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Dan Thompson told Cowboy State Daily that new methods of counting wildlife have resulted in a more accurate estimate of the number of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE).

“Through a lot of analysis, and empirical data, we were able to revise those parameters to be more reflective of the actual population size,” he said, “which is 1,069 grizzly bears in the demographic monitoring area.” The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem demographic monitoring area encompasses Northwest Wyoming and parts of Montana and Idaho.

Thompson said the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee reported the new numbers, based on data collected over the summer, to Game and Fish Department officials in a meeting earlier this week.

He said even though previous estimates set the area’s grizzly population at 700 to 750 bears, the methods previously used to count the bears under-reported the actual population. 

“It’s important to relay that the population hasn’t jumped up by several hundred,” Thompson clarified. “It’s just the numbers that we are reporting are more reflective of what is real, based on the data we’ve been collecting for decades.”

Cowboy State Daily reported just a few weeks ago that there have been more grizzly bears killed this year than in previous years – but Thompson said that the actual mortality rate is in line with the higher population.

“This is the highest number of grizzly bears we’ve reported in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since we started counting them in the 1970s,” Thompson noted. “The successful recovery of grizzly bears is demonstrated by the highest amount of occupied range in the GYE since potentially the 1800s. And so I think there’s a focus on the mortality aspect, and people tend to forget that this is a reflection of more bears, and more bears in new places, and that there’s also more bears being born.”

From the standpoint of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Thompson said the population of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is an ecological success story.

“These bears are biologically recovered and they have been for multiple years,” he said. “And that’s why we support delisting the population to celebrate the successful recovery of the population.”

For years, federal lawsuits have argued whether or not grizzly bears should be taken off the endangered species list. As of this writing, the species is still protected. 

But Thompson said keeping the bears on the list goes against the intent of the Endangered Species Act.

“The intent is to provide the protections needed to recover that specific species or that specific population,” he explained. “And that has been done in the GYE for grizzly bears – and we should be celebrating.”

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By Mark Davis, Powell Tribune

At least two bears were killed in vehicle collisions on the North Fork Highway over the weekend as visitors continue to flood into Yellowstone National Park. And the lives of two young cubs, now alone in the Shoshone National Forest, hang in the balance.

A grizzly bear sow was struck and killed Friday and a black bear was killed Saturday in the late season rush to visit the park. Bears are gathering in the North Fork corridor of the Shoshone River east of Yellowstone, feeding on a bumper crop of chokecherries, said Luke Ellsbury, large carnivore biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Coincidently, two cubs of the year have been seen frequenting the area surrounding the two-lane highway, apparently without a mother to guide them. Tests conducted on the sow killed Friday found the animal was not the cubs’ mother, but there is some speculation their mother might also have been hit by a vehicle and its body has yet to be found.

The cubs continue to draw a crowd along U.S. Highway 14/16/20, but their future is fairly grim, Ellsbury said.

“Survival for cubs of the year without a mother is pretty low,” he said Tuesday. 

The Game and Fish Department has considered its limited options and currently has no plans to attempt to capture the cubs.

“There’s nowhere to take them,” Ellsbury said.

There are very few facilities with room for grizzlies, John Heine, director of the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, in West Yellowstone, Montana, told the Tribune for a recent story. Once a grizzly is taken on, it’s a “lifetime commitment — and it’s rare a spot opens up for an addition to a zoo,” he said. “There are not enough spots available.” 

If the Game and Fish is forced to capture the abandoned cubs, they would have to be euthanized. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ultimately makes the final decisions on what happens to grizzly bears because they are a federally protected species under the Endangered Species Act.

The spectacle is causing a bear jam, and yet traffic is still moving fast through the area, placing wildlife and people in jeopardy, Ellsbury said.

Wildlife photographer Tim O’Leary found the grizzly sow killed Friday and dragged it off the road.

“With my photography, there’s two things that I try to avoid: power lines and roads,” he said.

But O’Leary intentionally photographed the cubs while they were on the North Fork Highway because “this story must be told,” he said. 

He’s afraid the cubs and other bears will be hit and killed as they circle between the river, berry bushes and cover.

“Traffic is just flying through there,” O’Leary said.

Yellowstone National Park has been breaking attendance records every month this summer. In August, 921,844 recreation vists were counted in the park, roughly 40,000 visits more than the same month last year. It’s easy to blame tourists, he said, but there are many locals driving way too fast through the area as well.

“If they put up a sign about bears on the road and to slow down, I think that would help,” he said.

Biologists for Game and Fish are often tasked with euthanizing grizzly bears. So far this year, the U.S. Geological Survey reports 25 grizzly bears have been put down for frequenting agricultural areas, killing sheep and cattle, for property damage, obtaining numerous food rewards, repeated bold behavior at guest lodges and trailheads, and property damage while searching for food. Fifteen of those killed were inside habitat deemed suitable by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and known as the Demographic Monitoring Area (DMA). Eleven more grizzly bears were euthanized outside of the DMA.

More grizzlies could meet the same fate due to increasing conflicts in the fall and the growing population of the large predator species.

“It’s that time of year when conflicts increase as grizzly bears are looking for food sources,” Ellsbury said.

The department has moved several bears this year, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find safe areas. In the past decade, there have been fewer bears moved, according to Dan Thompson, who heads up the large carnivore section for the Game and Fish.

“The ability to find available habitat is more difficult as the species has reached its carrying capacity inside core habitat,” he said. 

It’s especially difficult now as more people are seeking outdoor recreation during the pandemic.

“The thing we’re dealing with now is, 20 years ago relocation was a lot different because there weren’t near as many bears,” Thompson said. “There was more open home range areas, and you could move a bear and find a place for it to live. Nowadays, it’s just hard to do that.”

The Game and Fish Department captured and relocated an adult male grizzly bear on Saturday, according to a Tuesday press release. The bear was captured for killing cattle on a U.S. Forest Service grazing allotment north of Pinedale and relocated to the Five Mile Creek drainage, approximately 5 miles from Yellowstone’s East Entrance.

“Bears that are considered a threat to human safety are not relocated,” the release said, adding that grizzly bear relocation is a management tool that’s “critical to the management of the population.”

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By Mark Davis, Powell Tribune

It’s been a tough year for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. As of Wednesday, 27 individuals had been euthanized due to conflicts with humans, killed by other bears, hit by cars or drowned in canals so far in 2021.

Another five carcasses have been found that are suspected to have died in late 2020, bringing the total number to 32 known or probable deaths reported this year. That’s more than the 30 grizzly bear deaths reported in all of 2020 — and there are still several months left before the species typically hibernates, including the time period when hunters will be out in the backcountry areas.

Dry conditions mean the bruins might be more aggressive in search of food, said Luke Ellsbury, large carnivore biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

“Drought means a busier fall because bears will be more food-stressed,” Ellsbury said, adding, “We’re busier than average this year.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service makes the call on management actions for the species due to being listed for federal protections under the Endangered Species Act. But Game and Fish biologists are tasked with capturing, moving or euthanizing bears selected to be relocated or removed from the ecosystem.

So far this year, 17 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have been euthanized including 16 in Wyoming. A total of 13 grizzlies were euthanized last year, with nine in Wyoming, in a year that saw a below-average number of lethal removals.

Cody Regional Health

Bears are captured when they become aggressive, kill livestock or receive food rewards and become accustomed to people. Wildlife managers attempt to move grizzlies to more suitable areas when possible.

For instance, on July 23, the department relocated a subadult female to the Five Mile Creek drainage — about 5 miles from Yellowstone National Park’s East Entrance — after it killed cattle on a grazing allotment north of Pinedale.

When relocation is warranted, the department says it considers a bear’s age, sex and the type of conflict it was involved in, as well as potential human activity in the vicinity of the relocation site. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the Game and Fish Department say they will not move dangerous bears or those that repeatedly kill livestock or cause conflicts.

“Game and Fish continues to stress the importance of the public’s responsibility in bear management and the importance of keeping all attractants (food items, garbage, horse feed, bird seed, and others) unavailable to bears,” the department says. “Reducing attractants available to bears reduces human-bear conflicts.”

Every known or probable grizzly bear death is tracked by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team team while the species remains listed for federal protections under the Endangered Species Act. In a change to the grizzly bear mortality statistics reporting process, the team has moved its grizzly bear mortality statistics in anticipation of an update to the U.S. Geological Survey website.

New reports are now available in a downloadable PDF document. The reports can be found at on.doi.gov/3xTzgoZ.

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By Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily

A full-on search continued on Wednesday for a grizzly bear in Montana who dragged a 65-year-old woman out of her tent in the middle of the night and killed her.

But after two days of intensive search efforts, including the use of helicopters and infrared technology, the bear has escaped without a trace.

Terrifying details of the attack emerged on Wednesday when Montana wildlife authorities and law enforcement personnel discussed the events which led up to the fatal attack of Leah Davis Lokan of Chico, California.

According to the Powell County, Montana, Sheriff’s Office, three campers were spending the night in the town of Ovando, Montana, inside their tents outside of a local museum.

At approximately 3 a.m., a 400-pound male grizzly awakened the campers but ran away.

The campers removed food from their tents and secured it in an area designated for food storage before going back to bed.

A security camera at a local business a block away captured footage of the bear at 3:15 a.m.

Fifteen minutes later, two people in a tent were awakened by screams as the grizzly returned and pulled the victim out of her tent.

The campers sprayed the grizzly with bear spray, causing it to retreat.

At 4:14 a.m., the sheriff’s office received it first 911 call regarding the attack.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials said the bear at some point in the evening killed and ate several chickens after breaking into a chicken coop in the town.

That location, officials said, gives them the best opportunity to locate the grizzly.

“At this point, our best chance for catching this bear will be culvert traps set in the area near the chicken coop where the bear killed and ate several chickens,” said Randy Arnold, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks regional supervisor in Missoula.

DNA of the bear was acquired by wildlife personnel and will be used to compare it against any bear they are able to capture.

A spokesman for Fish, Wildlife, & Parks said if the bear is captured, it will be killed.

“This is just devastating,” Ray Francis, an Ovando resident, told The Associated Press. “This is a big biking community and I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

A local store owner, Tiffanie Zavarelli, said the incident has “shaken the town.”

“We’re all in contact with one another and my husband and I want to let the community know that we care and that we’re here if they need anything at all,” she said.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out the family and friends of the victim. Many thanks to the residents that assisted in the search and pulled together to support the first responders, the Powell County Sheriff’s Office and the Fish Wildlife and Parks as we worked to process the scene and conduct the searches,” a spokesperson from the Powell County Sheriff’s Office said.

All campsites in Ovando will be closed until Sunday. 

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By Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily

It looks like Grizzly Bear 863, better known as Felicia, and her cubs will live to see another day.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reported on Monday that the two-week intensive hazing operation to keep the celebrity bear and her family away from the highway on Togwotee Pass has been successful.

That means the agency won’t kill the bears as officials suggested was a possibility due to Felicia’s proclivity to approach vehicles and people in search of food.

The Fish and Wildlife Service thanked members of the public for not stopping on the highway to watch wildlife during the hazing period but added that making lasting changes in the bear’s behavior will require a long-term effort.

“The public’s avoidance of the area in recent days has contributed to the ability of wildlife managers to conduct operations safely and productively,” the U.S. Fish & Wildlife said in a release.

“However, Grizzly 863’s healthy fear of people and vehicles will continue only if the public avoids the area and practices responsible wildlife viewing behavior,” it said.

In the lexicon of the criminal justice system, the successful hazing doesn’t mean the bears have been removed from death row.

It only means that they have received a temporary pardon. They could still receive a death sentence. It is up to the public to keep the bears alive.

“By avoiding stopping on or along the highway, approaching, or feeding bears, the public can minimize the need to escalate the severity of management options for the bear,” the Fish and Wildlife Service said.

But this time it didn’t mention the word “euthanasia.”

When the organization did raise that prospect earlier this month, it was a public relations fiasco with nationwide press coverage and nearly 75,000 people signing a petition to stop “the murder of this bear and her two cubs” as it was written on the change.org website.

What happens now?

The agency said it would continue to monitor the bears and will engage in “limited hazing efforts” in coordination with the U.S. Forest Service, the Wyoming Highway Patrol and the Wyoming Game & Fish Department.

As for intervention by a volunteer group — or “posse” —  to monitor the highway and to intervene when people fall back on old habits, the Fish and Wildlife Service said that would be a bad idea and likely make things worse.

“The Service and partners have determined this option is not viable due to significant safety concerns,” it said. “Highway 26/287 is a major arterial highway for western Wyoming. The agencies involved concur that any attempt to facilitate viewing would encourage unsafe conditions along this already busy highway.”

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By Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily

Heeding proper bear advice is important. It can be a matter of life or death.

Thinking it’s possible to outrun a bear is fraught with peril.

A video shared on Tuesday by Glacier National Park shows why attempting to run from a bear is a bad idea.

The video showed what could have been a nasty confrontation between a grizzly bear and a black bear.

The National Park Service describes the encounter as a battle for food. It’s still not plentiful, so battles over a food source happens often.

That means, as horrible as it sounds, a bear can be the equivalent of a cheeseburger for another bear.

In this case, a much larger grizzly goes after a black bear, but the black bear does not turn into a cheeseburger.

That’s because of — as the Park Service describes it — the black bear’s exit strategy: climbing.

The black bear escaped up a tree.  And although the grizzly acted like it was going to follow the black bear up, it couldn’t.  Although it gave the viewing public a thrill.

Glacier National Park described the difference of the two bears like this:

“The short, sharp claws of the black bear are ideal for tree climbing. The grizzly’s longer, duller claws are great for digging, but poor for climbing—especially because an adult grizzly is substantially heavier than a black bear,” the Park Service said.

It’s a fantastic video and a great lesson for humans who think they can outsmart bears.

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By staff reports, Cowboy State Daily

As a result of continued harassment by wildlife viewers creating unsafe conditions on Togwotee Pass in Wyoming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and partners plan to conduct targeted hazing operations on grizzly bear 863. 

The Service and partners ask the public to avoid the area if possible and not interfere with these management operations, currently planned for the remainder of June 2021. Allowing wildlife experts to address this issue uninterrupted will increase the chances of this management tactic being successful.

People and cars dangerously close to a grizzly bear on U.S. Highway 26/287, creating unsafe conditions for people and wildlife. Credit: Todd Stiles/U.S. Forest Service

This operation will be conducted alongside partners at the U.S. Forest Service, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Highway Patrol, and Wyoming Game & Fish Department. 

Approaching, disturbing, or feeding bears – as is occurring on Togwotee Pass – is extremely dangerous to both humans and bears. 

These actions habituate animals to human development and can lead to dangerous human conditioned behavior. When this happens, bears may become aggressive and threaten human safety. 

If hazing does not resolve conflicts on Togwotee Pass, escalating management options include relocation and possibly euthanasia. By avoiding approaching or feeding bears, the public can help ensure that the need for such significant management options is unnecessary.

A female grizzly bear, known as “863” by wildlife managers and “Felicia” by public observers, and her two cubs have become habituated to the roadside along Highway 26/287. 

As more people become aware of these bears and stop to approach them, it creates unsafe conditions for people and wildlife. The public’s help is needed to ensure the continued safety of these bears and people passing through the area.

The Service and our partners continue to raise calls to the public to stay safe and help keep grizzly bears wild (see: USFWS and Partners Urge Responsible Grizzly Bear Viewing in Togwotee Pass Area, As Grizzly Bears Emerge from Dens, USFWS Urges Public to Stay Safe and Keep Bears Wild, and Multi-agency Effort to Maintain Safety of Grizzly Bears and People). 

The Service again reminds residents and visitors that approaching, feeding, or otherwise disturbing grizzly bears poses a significant threat to humans and bears, in addition to being a federal offense under the Endangered Species Act.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Wyoming Highway Patrol, Wyoming Game & Fish Department, and other partners are unified in our approach and committed to ensuring safe conditions for people and wildlife. To achieve this goal, we need your help. Please remember to:

Never approach bears; always remain at least 100 yards (300 feet) away, or about the length of a football field

Practice ethical wildlife viewing by remaining a safe distance and never disturbing natural behaviors – if an animal notices you and/or changes their behavior or actions, you are too close

Never feed, leave food for, or make food accessible to bears

Obey traffic signs, laws, and regulations – stop only in designated pull-off areas

Follow the direction of wildlife management officials, do not interfere with or approach hazing operations

Additional grizzly bear safety information is available from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee for residents, hunters, hikers/campers, farmers/ranchers, and wildlife watchers.

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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is reminding people that no matter how tough they might think they are, a grizzly bear is tougher.

Always.

A recent national poll conducted by YouGov America showed what animals Americans thought they could defeat in a fight, and about 6% of respondents believed they could definitely win in a fight against a grizzly bear.

This group of people obviously has never seen the film “Grizzly Man,” about a bear enthusiast who claimed to have won the trust of certain brown bears and was later killed by one.

Nonetheless, the Game and Fish department reminded people that even though it might sound cool to take part in a cage match with a grizzly, no one should ever fight bears — or any animal, for that matter.

“The Wyoming Game and Fish Department views human-wildlife conflicts very seriously, and interactions between humans and grizzlies can be extremely dangerous,” Game and Fish Spokeswoman Sara DiRienzo told Cowboy State Daily on Friday. “Seeking out conflict with any wildlife is not only dangerous but irresponsible as well.

“Obviously, Game and Fish does not support anyone instigating a fight with bears (or any wildlife) and urges people to educate themselves on bear safety and take extra steps to avoid conflicts,” she continued

The top three animals people thought they could beat in a fight were a rat (72% thought they could win), a house cat (69%) and a goose (61%).

Admittedly, grizzlies were the animal the fewest people thought they could beat. Lions, elephants and gorillas were selected as the underdog by 8% of those responding. Crocodiles (9%) and wolves (12%) were also selected as more likely to be bested in a match with a human.

Noted outdoor enthusiast and Pinedale resident Paul Ulrich, who has had multiple encounters with bears, said anyone who thinks they can take a grizzly is an “idiot.”

“A few years ago, I was about 20 yards away from a 1,200-pound grizzly bear and if it wasn’t for my bear spray, it wouldn’t have been pretty,” Ulrich said. “I think I would have been fine because I’m in shape but my buddy is a 300 pounder and that bear was looking at him like a double cheeseburger.”

Ulrich said the bear spray stopped the grizzly and allowed he and his friend to get to their pickup truck in time to escape.

“These bears are not only fast but they’re nimble,” Ulrich said. “My friend is slow, fat, and uncoordinated. That bear would have chopped him up like a food processor.”

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By Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily

A woman in Yellowstone National Park who appeared to disregard National Park Service rules by approaching wildlife is under investigation by federal authorities.

The National Park Service is asking the public to help identify a woman who was charged by a female grizzly bear after walking up to the animal with her phone to film it.

Video of the encounter captured onlookers’ gasps when the grizzly rushed the woman who calmly walked away after the bear’s charge.

The Park Service describes the suspect as a white woman in her mid-30s with brown hair, heavyset, and wearing black clothing.

According to the statement, the violation occurred on May 10 at around 4:45pm.

Commenters on Yellowstone National Park’s Facebook page had little sympathy for the woman.

“If they didn’t euthanize the bears, I would fully support them eating a few tourists each year,” wrote Ken Weisz.

“People really just act like they are seeing squirrels at their local park. She’s lucky she didn’t get yeeted out of existence,” said Shiloh Barksdale.

“I guess this Darwin Award recipient thinks she’s at a petting zoo,” Lacy Teel said. “She’s lucky to be alive and lucky she didn’t cause the death of this mother and her cubs.”

There have been many high-profile bear attacks so far in 2021, some fatal.

A woman was killed by a black bear near Durango, Colorado in April and a Montana man was mauled to death by a grizzly near Yellowstone earlier this month.

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Staff reports

Despite a concerted multi-agency effort to provide safe wildlife viewing of grizzly bears frequenting U.S. Highway 26 near Togwotee Pass, officials are now planning to step-up management efforts in order to maintain the safety of both wildlife and people.

“What started as just a handful of people occasionally watching a sow grizzly bear and her cubs has now turned into large crowds of people getting out of their illegally parked vehicles, creating a serious safety issue along this busy highway due to vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed as they pass by,” said Lieutenant Matt Brackin with the Wyoming Highway Patrol. 

“This is not like a national park where motorists are traveling at much lower speeds and expecting to see wildlife with the public pulled over to wildlife watch. This is a major highway with numerous large semi-tractor trailers that can’t stop in short order to avoid stopped vehicles or excited pedestrians that are criss-crossing the road. It has become a significant safety issue.” 

Wyoming state troopers plan to start citing individuals who have illegally parked their vehicles along the highway rather than parking in a designated legal pull-out.

Wyoming Game and Fish officials have begun to haze the sow grizzly bear and her cubs away from the road when conditions allow it to be done safely for both the bears and people. “Hazing wildlife away from busy highways and other areas of human development is a commonly-used practice to prevent a wildlife-vehicle collision or a dangerous encounter between people and wildlife,” said Dan Thompson, Large Carnivore Supervisor for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. 

“As an agency, we promote safe and ethical viewing of wildlife, but unfortunately this has escalated into a situation that is not safe for people or the grizzly bears. Bears occasionally seen from a road are much different than bears that frequent these areas and become habituated to people. When allowed to persist, it only increases the likelihood for either people or bears to behave poorly, which can result in a human injury or death, or the grizzly bear having to be euthanized.”

All of the agencies involved are in consensus that these management actions are necessary for the safety of grizzly bears and people. People are reminded to heed all signs along the road and follow the direction of authorities from the Teton County Sheriff’s Office, Wyoming Highway Patrol, U.S. Forest Service and Wyoming Game and Fish Department. 

“The efforts to recover our grizzly bear populations have afforded people unprecedented opportunity to see and photograph bears on a regular basis in northwest Wyoming,” said Thompson. “But with that comes the responsibility to do it safely and ethically for the benefit of both grizzly bears and people.”

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By Mark Davis, Powell Tribune

Education is the top priority in Wyoming’s $55 million, decades-long battle to recover and conserve grizzly bears. The success of the Bear Wise program — the department’s large carnivore educational outreach program — has helped keep both bears and people safe, according to state officials. But the department is at a crossroads: Its goal of building tolerance among landowners and residents is in jeopardy of wearing thin as conflicts continue to increase.

“Tolerance goes down as conflicts go up,” Brian DeBolt, large carnivore conflict coordinator for the department, told the Game and Fish Commission in April.

In many ways, DeBolt and the rest of the large carnivore team find themselves in a tight spot. The federal government calls all the shots while the species is listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Despite being deemed recovered for years by a federal conservation governing body, efforts to delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s grizzlies have been unsuccessful, while bears keep spreading out into areas fraught with conflict. At the same time, more visitors from outside the Yellowstone ecosystem — many who haven’t seen the messaging from Bear Wise Wyoming — are pouring in, hoping to get a glimpse of the charismatic critters.

DeBolt and large carnivore team supervisor Dan Thompson — considered the state’s top experts — outlined the pressing issues of livestock depredation and aggressive bears in residential neighborhoods at the commission’s April 22 meeting. They also heralded recently improved removal rates and educational opportunities seized despite the pandemic.

“A huge component of having large carnivores on the landscape is managing conflicts,” Thompson said.

There were 208 conflicts with grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in 2020, with 50% occurring on private property.

Thompson and DeBolt spoke to the Game and Fish’s governing body as the first grizzly attack of the year was hitting newsstands. Carl Mock, a backcountry guide from West Yellowstone, Montana, was mauled by a grizzly bear during a solo fishing trip on the Madison River just outside of Yellowstone National Park. The 40-year-old Mock died two days later, on April 17.

The bear is believed to have been defending a nearby food cache — a natural defense mechanism for the species — as a moose carcass was located near the scene of the attack. The bear was later killed as it charged a large contingent of officials responding to the scene.

Bear spray residue found on Mock’s clothing suggested he tried to ward off the attack, The Associated Press reported. Mock usually carried a pistol in addition to the spray, but didn’t that day. By the time rescuers reached him, he was propped up at the base of a tree with his canister of spray in one hand and his other hand missing — lost in the battle with the bruin.

Mock wasn’t just a statistic to be bantered around in the constant debate over management protocols, Thompson said. Nor was Mark Uptain, a guide killed in the Teton wilderness in 2018, or any of the deaths and injuries that have unfolded in recent years. They were family members and friends.

But the attacks, hyped in big headlines in some publications, also become ammunition used by some to demonize the species, the recovery efforts of the state and federal government, and predator management as a whole. 

“I understand their frustration,” Thompson said. “It is very tough, because we’ve asked the public to trust in us. And we’ve done everything we can to recover and prove that we’ve recovered grizzly bears. But we’re still dealing with a listed population.”

He said tolerance is impossible to quantify, but when a person gets injured or killed, “it obviously impacts the general thought process of a lot of people about grizzly bears in the [Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem].”

Wyoming’s large carnivore team walks a narrow line between protecting humans and protecting the predator species unique to our ecosystem.

“There’s international interest and scrutiny on what we do,” Thompson said.

Wolves, mountain lions and bears have all been misunderstood while being displaced by the fragmented habitat of progress, he said. There were still bounties on mountain lions deep into the 20th century in the U.S., offering hard currency to anyone willing to shoot the species, with no limits or regulations. 

Thompson told commissioners that the department’s proactive measures to inform and educate the public are “very critical” to large carnivore management. The Game and Fish’s large carnivore team started with just a few people, he said, but has expanded to 10 full-time employees and several temporary hires, “just to be able to deal with these things as the population expands.”

The official estimate of grizzlies within the Demographic Monitoring Area — an area deemed as suitable bear habitat — is about 730 bears. However, drawing from population data presented by the Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, Thompson said there are likely more than 1,000 of the predators in that area, “and have been since 2015.”

Officials refuse to give an educated estimate as to how many additional bears have moved outside the monitoring area, but based on the growing footprint of the bear, many guess there are hundreds more; reported grizzly conflicts outside the boundaries of the DMA span a region the size of New Jersey.

However, critics question such population “guesstimates” and some claim higher estimates will result in more grizzly deaths, including eventual hunting of the species. While grizzly bear hunts have become a flashpoint in debates over delisting, Thompson points out that the state manages the hunting of black bears, wolves and mountain lions, all of which are steadily increasing in population.

“Without the public buying in, without public support and tolerance for these species, we can’t move forward,” he said. “That’s why we make a huge effort to understand all the different perspectives from the public — from those who adore [predators], to those who hate them.”

The Bear Wise and loss mitigation programs remain important parts of building tolerance, Thompson said. The department has paid millions in compensation for livestock lost to predators and is constantly looking for ways to get its messages out to residents and visitors. The program is seeking to expand bear spray giveaways and educational efforts as COVID-19 vaccinations make it possible for officials to schedule live events.

“My message to the public is to do everything you can to be safe, and do everything you can to protect yourself,” Thompson said.

Despite the many critics from communities in grizzly habitat and around the globe, he considers all opinions valid as the debate rages.

“I’ve always said that we can use [the passion for the species] to our advantage,” he said. “I’d rather have interest than apathy.”

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By staff reports, Cowboy State Daily

A $40,000 reward has been offered for information in the the killing of a female grizzly bear in Idaho in an area about 10 miles west of Yellowstone National Park.

The Idaho Fish and Game Department on Monday announced the killing of the grizzly which authorities believe occurred in mid-March at the Pole Bridge Campground and also resulted in the death of her 6 to 8 week cub.

“The loss of a reproductive female grizzly is a real tragedy,” Regional Conservation Officer Doug Petersen said. “Someone out there knows what happened to this bear and we are asking them to come forward and share that information with us.”

Officials found the bear, which was shot numerous times, partially submerged in the Little Warm River after receiving a mortality signal from its collar. The cub was later discovered in the bear’s den.

This is the third shooting of a grizzly in the area in the last 10 months. 

In September of 2020 an adult male grizzly was shot and killed in Coyote Meadows followed by the shooting of a young male bear in November that was discovered near the Cold Springs Road. All three cases remain under investigation.

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By Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily

A West Yellowstone man died Saturday after being attacked by a grizzly bear two days earlier.

Friends and family of Carl Mock, 40, announced his death on Saturday on a GoFundMe page which was originally set-up to pay for his medical bills.

Officials said the bear attack on the backcountry guide occurred on Thursday near the Baker’s Hole campground area, approximately 3 miles north of the West Yellowstone entrance of Yellowstone National Park and 2 miles west of the Wyoming state line.

Mock was taken to an Idaho Falls hospital with significant scalp and facial injuries. According to the GoFundMe page, Mock succumbed to his injuries after suffering a “massive” stroke.

“This comes as a terrible shock and is heartbreaking to everyone, since both of his surgeries went so well,” said Keith Johnson, organizer of the fundraising effort.

“All of the money that is being donated on this page… will be given to the family to help cover the medical bills and the funeral costs,” Johnson said.

Officials with the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Department said Mock had bear spray, but it was unclear if he was able to deploy it during the attack.

An older male grizzly was shot and killed on Friday while game wardens and bear specialists were conducting an investigation at the scene of the attack.

“They yelled and made continuous noise as they walked toward the site to haze away any bears in the area,” the department said in a release. “Before they reached the site, a bear began charging the group.”

“Despite multiple attempts by all seven people to haze away the bear, it continued its charge. Due to this immediate safety risk, the bear was shot and died about 20 yards from the group,” the department said.

The U.S. Forest Service issued an emergency public-safety closure in the area Thursday afternoon. The closure remains in effect.

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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily

Wyoming officials are disagreeing with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommendation to leave grizzly bears on the threatened wildlife list for at least five more years.

Last week, the agency recommended that no change be made to the to the grizzlies’ status as threatened under the Endangered Species Act for at least five years, which will allow for a status review.

But Wyoming officials maintain the recommendation is not based in the reality of what is happening with the bears in the park.

“The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem bear population is booming, growing from as few as 136  bears during early recovery periods to potentially more than 1,000 in the ecosystem today,” said Brian Nesvik, director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “The traditional range has expanded beyond what is considered biological and socially suitable habitats by 7,738 square miles. Yet, it remains listed because of endless federal lawsuits litigated in courts outside of Wyoming and disengagement from what is happening on-the-ground in our state.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s recommendation to leave the bears on the list came after a thorough review of the best available science, the agency said in a statement, which was informed by an independently peer-reviews species status assessment.

The recommendation did confirm that grizzly populations in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems are biologically recovered. However, the five-year status review would allow for assessment of the species as a whole across the 48 contiguous states.

The assessment will evaluate the species’ current needs, conditions and threats, as well as modeling future scenarios. The remaining challenges with their threatened status include limited habitat connectivity, management of access by motorized vehicles, human-caused mortality and uncertainty surrounding future conservation efforts in some ecosystems, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Grizzlies were originally listed as threatened in 1975 and then removed from the endangered species list in 2017 by the Fish and Wildlife Service, which cited a significant increase in bear populations.

However, in 2018, a federal court reversed the agency’s decision.

Nesvik said the decision to continue to list the bears as threatened ignores the progress that has been made in their recovery.

“By all federally mandated criteria and scientific measures, the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has reached and exceeded recovery status for more than 20 years,” he said. “Over the last 40 years, Wyoming has contributed over $50 million to meet the high-bar required for delisting. These contributions have come largely from hunters and anglers.”

Gov. Mark Gordon agreed with Nesvik’s sentiments and is backing a proposal by the state’s congressional delegation to remove the bears from the endangered species list.

“The governor is supportive of the legislation introduced by our (congressional) delegation that would de-list grizzly bears,” Gordon’s spokesman Michael Pearlman told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. “Wyoming’s grizzly bears have been biologically recovered for more than a decade, and therefore the state should be managing the species.”

U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso have joined U.S. senators from Idaho and Montana in introducing legislation to remove grizzly bears from the endangered species list.

In late February, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney reintroduced a bill to Congress that would remove grizzly bears from the endangered species list and prevent them from being considered threatened or endangered wildlife in the future.

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By Wendy Corr, Cowboy State Daily

A congressional proposal to remove grizzly bears from the endangered species list would benefit the bears and humans, according to hunters and the state Game and Fish Department.

U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, joined by U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, is sponsoring legislation to “delist” the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s grizzlies and put their management in the hands of state wildlife officials.

Joe Kondelis is the president of the Western Bear Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and development of bears, bear habitat, and bear hunting in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. 

In his opinion, the legislation is welcome.

“The only way we’re going to get the grizzly bear delisted, in my opinion, is to do it federally, because time has proven that anti-delisting groups litigating and suing prevent putting it into state management,” Kondelis said.

The politics of delisting are frustrating for Kondelis and his organization, he said.

“I think the struggles have been — we have one criteria for a species, until that criteria is met… and then society changes that,” he said. “The scientists and the managers haven’t changed it, but public perception changes, and then all of us who live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have to suffer.”

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Director, Brian Nesvik, in the December issue of the department’s magazine “Wyoming Wildlife,” expressed his own frustration in the slow-moving inner workings of politics when it comes to the management of the burly bruins.

“Despite the fact that the population is recovered by all scientific measures and has been for nearly 20 years, the state is not allowed to implement its grizzly bear management plans,” Nesvik wrote. 

Kondelis said his organization is also advocating for state management of the bears, rather than putting them under the auspices of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“If we could move into state management we would have more flexibility to manage the population for health and sustainability,” he noted. 

In the “Wyoming Wildlife” article, Nesvik detailed the efforts that have been made by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for grizzlies and other species, pointing to success in the recovery of the grey wolf population, which is thriving even after four years of legal hunting in Wyoming.

Hunting, as a matter of fact, is one of the key tools used in wildlife population management, according to Nesvik.

“Our time-tested model for managing many wildlife species in North America, including large carnivores, has always included hunting,” he wrote.

Kondelis’ organization agrees.

The Western Bear Foundation, based in Cody, is both a hunter advocacy group and a bear conservation organization. With around 500 volunteer members comprised of representatives from most states, the Foundation has a vested interest in the survival of the species.

“Are we doing enough at the state level to ensure there’s a future for bears on our landscape, for not only hunters to enjoy but for everyone to enjoy?” Kondelis asked. “With that comes proper sound management and using science to basically guide our decisions as far as management goes.”

Kondelis said he knows many sportsmen and others who recreate in the northern Continental Divide ecosystem who have had encounters with grizzly and other bears.

“It’s becoming part of the lexicon out West,” he said. 

He added that the estimates that are being reported regarding the bear population are most likely on the conservative side and are likely skewed by the fact animals are wandering more and more outside their traditional habitat.

“These bears are moving out of their native ranges and into new areas that they’ve never been since the settlers came over,” he said. “And so that’s where the trouble has been lately — not in the demographic monitoring area as much as it has been outside of that.”

Lummis introduced the Grizzly Bear State Management Act of 2021 Barrasso and fellow U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and James Risch of Idaho and Steve Daines of Montana. The companion version of this legislation was previously introduced in the House by Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

In 1975, there were 136 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In 2019, there were 728 bears, evidence of an effective conservation effort. At this point, grizzly numbers have been in the 700s for a number of years. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team’s analysis suggests that the park is at or near its ecological carrying capacity for grizzly bears.

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