A grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. (photo: Jim Peaco/National Park Service)
Opposition
Stalls End of Yellowstone Grizzly Protections
By Matthew Brown, Associated
Press
14 January 17
A deluge
of opposition from dozens of American Indian tribes, conservation groups and
some scientists is tying up a decision on lifting protections for more than 700
grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National park.
Officials
had planned to finalize by the end of 2016 a proposal to turn management of
grizzlies over to state officials and allow limited hunting.
But
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Regional Director Michael Thabault
said it could take the agency another six months to finish reviewing 650,000
public comments that have poured in on the proposal.
Researchers
tallied 106 Yellowstone-area grizzlies killed in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming
during the past two years, often by wildlife managers following attacks on
livestock and occasionally during run-ins with hunters.
That's
the highest number of deaths in such a short time since the animal was listed as
a threatened species in 1975. But Thabault said the death rate was sustainable
given that the overall population has greatly expanded from 136 bears when
protections were first imposed.
"The
bear population has been increasing over time and those mortalities are within
the bounds of what we've been considering," he said. "We expect the
population to go up and down, but basically revolve around this (current)
level."
Officials
in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana have been lobbying heavily to take grizzlies off the
threatened species list. They say the animals have recovered from
near-extermination last century and limited trophy hunting should be allowed.
Critics
argue that hunts sponsored by state wildlife agencies could reverse the
grizzly's four-decade recovery. Representatives of dozens of Indian tribes have
signed onto a treaty urging the Fish and Wildlife Service not to lift
protections for an animal that's regarded as sacred within many native
cultures.
Federal
officials have held talks with some tribal officials to address their
objections. However, the government is not bound to make any changes based on
the tribal consultations.
Yellowstone
Superintendent Dan Wenk raised concerns in November about the way scientists
count bears, which could impact how many are made available to hunters.
But in
December, Wenk's superior, National Park Service Associate Regional Director
Patrick Walsh, signed off on a Yellowstone grizzly conservation plan that's
required in order for protections to be lifted. The reversal came after the
states agreed to use a conservative bear counting method going forward, in part
to help prevent excessive hunting.
An
estimated 50,000 Grizzlies once roamed much of North America. Most were killed
off by hunters in the 19th and early 20th centuries and they now occupy only
about 2 percent of their original range across the Lower 48 states.
Through
an intensive recovery effort, two large populations have been re-established
around Yellowstone and in northwest Montana around Glacier National Park, which
has roughly 1,000 bears.
Montana
officials say the Glacier-area population is also recovered and should lose its
federal protections, but no formal proposal has been offered.
C 2015 Reader Supported News
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