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This should get sticky real fast. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has been in contact with the Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana game management agencies about getting ready for a potential delisting of…grizzly bears. The last time we got this far it resulted in a temporary delisting that was derailed due to a lack of pine nuts. I kid you not.
The states are now in a position where they could legitimately be managing the silver-tipped bear in the near future. Each state will have to submit management plans that will keep populations above objective on a yearly basis. Those numbers will include plans to make sure that road-kill, winter die off and, drum roll please… hunting season quotas don’t allow the bear populations to slip too low.
This decision will likely end up in court again with the uber-left “green” groups pushing to keep the bear on the Endangered Species List. The funny thing to me though is that these people are so scared of success. When an animal is listed the goal is to bring it back from the brink of extinction to a viable member of local ecosystems.
If animals never actually recover enough under the protection of the Endangered Species Act to come off the list, couldn’t the argument be made that the ESA and all of the protections and efforts they offer are flawed? It is worth it for all parties involved to see this apex predator delisted!
What is even more strange to me is that we have never had stronger big game herd numbers as a whole across North America. The vast majority of these strong numbers were built through the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation with you and I funding those efforts. You never know, grizzly bears may just end up being the next species that sportsmen take on their backs and manage for the better into the future.
Can’t come soon enough, but not time to hold our breath yet… good news though, Mike!
Your conclusion about big game populations are ridiculous! Wolves have destroyed elk populations in much of Montana and Idaho and continue to destroy populations wherever they are found, now from California to Wisconsin and Michigan. Girzzley bears are a far lesser threat to ungulet populations, but should have been de-listed years ago.And the states should tell the Feds to stick it in their ears- or other convenient spots!
BB,
I guess you have not read the multi-year Yellowstone study on wolves in the park. Every kill by wolves is taken by Grizzly, and the number is almost 100%.
This impact study is on going, just do some research before making negative statements. The Grizzly loves the wolves work, and steals kills as a learned response, forcing wolves to keep killing to stay fed.
Alpha predators are biological barometers, and their numbers increase as prey is available. Wolves, and bears have increased steadily for decades, feasting on prime herds in unison, until the current decline continues to the point of predator starvation.
Remember this, wolves are instinctual, as bears are intelligent. Meaning bears can learn with one encounter. Match this to the bio system in Yellowstone, and you have created the smartest groups of Alpha predators the western United States has ever seen.
Deep Sky,
I’m not sure of how you came to the conclusion that wolves are not smart, only instinctual. I have been around and witnessed their ( not intelligent ) behavior. For one example, This year in Idaho I heard 4 wolves howling in the night time the evening before the rifle season started. As soon as the first shot was fired, I never heard another wolf the whole season. Did they shut up because of the gun fire or did they leave the area because of man scent in the area. In the previous 2 weeks, Bow hunters were present in the area so scent was available for them to be aware hunters were present, but they chose not to leave at that time.
Take into another account a hunt in Idaho about 5 years ago where I got myself into the middle of a pack of 7 wolves. I managed to watch and film them as they tried to identify the stranger who was howling ( challenging ) to invade their hunt area. As I got near their pack I noticed that 6 of the wolves around me were younger and smaller than what I expected to see, about 75 Lb animals. The wind was perfect and was I able to watch them trying to Identify me in the burn’t timber I was in. There was an Alfa male on top of the ridge communicating with them as they still could not smell me or identify me. They left as they knew something was not right.
I hate to say it Guy, but I would have to see it to believe it! The uber left as you describe is so virulent in their attacks against common sense, that the lies are told so repeatedly they have long since given any other alternative away. The big brown teddy bear is their poster child, and they see it as a lost war, if he is de-listed.
The Wyoming DNR has to have a management plan in place today! Right now! The state legislators are seeking money, and this would be a revenue answer if played right, not to mention the beneficial effect to the ungulate herds. There can be no delay, for once beat the anti’s to the punch, and have impact studies done before the law suits.
I would compel the DNR to put together a task force to prep for the coming attacks, and compile the needed data.
Keep up the good work, keeping us all in the loop.
The bears have been here a couple of times already and ended up back on the list almost before we knew they were proposed for delisting. If this time is not successful a push for transplanting them to CA (the Golden bear state} and CO is in order. Spread the wealth and pain and after a few greenies get chewed up they might get delisted. If all the recreationalists in those two heavily populated states have to comply with all the Grizzly regulations the people of WY,MT and ID do things will change.
Any attempt to permit Grizzly hunting will most likely be held up in the courts for quite awhile. I can’t get too excited about it yet.
The money that just a few tags per state could generate would be huge!
The Great Grizz has already made it into CA. I saw my first and only Grizzly last in the 2014 season while hunting the Trinity Alps in October. I have also talked with locals in the Klamath, CA region who said they saw Grizzlies in the 1980’s but have not seen them since. There is no doubt the bear I saw in 2014 was a Grizzly. Thanks for keeping us in the loop Guy!
The Left is so arrogant. They deny truth on every front. Let’s hope they’re delisted. I will definitely be applying for a tag to hunt them! I’ve always dreamed of hunting Grizzlies here in the west. It’s to bad that Grizzlies aren’t managed by game agencies only. If they were we could have Grizzlies here in Colorado. They’d have to be managed at a low population rate and that’s the problem (the ESA doesn’t allow that). The ESA is the biggest threat to wildlife because it doesn’t allow for common sense management. We need to amend the ESA and get the money from green groups out of the game. There’s a lot of money being donated to these assholes. Follow the money and you’ll find the source of the problem. They gotta keep those pesky lawyers employed.
If the Wyoming legislature listens to the Agricultural interests like they did with the wolves, the bears will never be de-listed like they are in Montana and Idaho. As a matter of fact, the Wolf de-listing bill that was to be added as a rider to the Budget bill, never made it. They are still listed, and the fern-fondlers are giddy with glee. This defeat on wolves was shocking to me, as the Feds supported the de-listing…and we still lost to the Demotards. Wyoming Legislators need to stop listening to a small but vocal handful of Ranchers and Jim Magagna in particular. I’m sorry to bust your balloon Guy, but the Bunny huggers will fight the bear delisting with full vigor and an army of Lawyers.
I live in northern Mn. and have seen timber wolves my whole life.we have always had them and were not a problem until the federal government took over control of them from the state of Mn. Let this be a lesson to all states, never let the federal government take control of anything in your state because they will never give it back.They like the power and they really don’t care how it affects anyone alse, after all they don’t live anywhere near the problem.
RWL
I say don’t delist the grizzly and let population grow. Let the uber left hike the backcountry in fear of being the next grizz meal. I will carry a gun.
Our biggest problem concerning most of these issues in our hunting world is us hunters. As much as I’d like to see Grizzly numbers stable enough to be reclassified a game animal in the lower 48 I wouldn’the be interested in seeing $20,000.00 hunts offered to the affluent few who could afford such tags
Our hunting heritage is being strangled out of existance by the wealthy “extreme” hunter who now commands the outfitter market and has made our way of life so competitive that only those with 10’s of thousands of dollars of expendable income able to enjoy what was once affordable to even the modest income brackets households
In the 1980’s I could buy 10 days in an outfitted elk camp for a months wages. Now those same 10 days is 10 times that price
We can thank TV and the new celebrity outdoorsman for this trend
I agree with Chris, hunting is becoming a “rich mans sport”. Non-resident elk tags cost has become prohibitive for a working man. Add to that the stories about the selling of public lands and not only will hunting become to expensive we won’t have a place to hunt anyway. I wish there was an easy answer but I don’t think so. Keep in touch with what is going on and voice your opinion when you can. Maybe someone will eventually listen.