# Yellowstone Griz may soon be off the list



## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

BILLINGS, Mont. - Grizzly bears in areas surrounding Yellowstone National Park would be removed from the endangered species list under a proposal to be announced next week, officials said Thursday.

The Interior Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment on the proposal, but a congressional official and a state government official who were each informed of the announcement confirmed the government's plan. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal has not yet been made public.


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## wyocarp (Jul 29, 2005)

It would sure be nice to be able to hunt grizzly south of Alaska. I hope it passes.


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

After three decades of successful conservation efforts involving federal
and state agencies and many other partners, the greater Yellowstone
population of grizzly bears has recovered and no longer needs the
protection of the Endangered Species Act, Interior Secretary Gale Norton
announced today.
As a result, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to
remove the Yellowstone population from the list of threatened and
endangered species. Four other grizzly populations in the lower 48 states
have not yet recovered and will continue to be protected as threatened
species under the Act.
"When it was listed in 1975, this majestic animal that greeted Lewis
and Clark on their historic expedition stood at risk of disappearing from
the American West," Norton said. "Thanks to the work of many partners, more
than 600 grizzlies now inhabit the Yellowstone ecosystem and the population
is no longer threatened."
"With a comprehensive conservation strategy ready to be put into
place upon delisting, we are confident that the future of the grizzly bear
in Yellowstone is bright," she said. "Our grandchildren's grandchildren
will see grizzly bears roaming Yellowstone."
Grizzly bears in the Yellowstone area have made a remarkable recovery
in the past three decades. When the species was listed, only 220 to 320
bears remained in the ecosystem, and these animals were jeopardized by loss
of habitat and high mortality from conflict with humans. Cooperation,
consultation and communication among numerous federal and state agencies,
non-government organizations, local governments and citizens have reversed
the trend.
Since the mid 1990s, the Yellowstone population has grown at a rate
of 4 percent to 7 percent per year. Grizzlies have occupied 48 percent
more habitat since they were listed, and biologists have sighted bears more
than 60 miles from what was once thought to be the outer limits of their
range.
The recovery of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem is the
result of intensive scientific research, state and federal cooperation to
manage habitat and limit mortality, and the implementation of regulatory
protections over more than three decades.
In 1973 - two years prior to the bear's addition to the threatened
species list - scientists at various federal agencies formed a grizzly bear
scientific study team. The team currently consists of scientists involved
in grizzly bear recovery from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National
Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the USDA-Forest Service, the
state wildlife agencies in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming and several
universities. This science team has developed protocols and techniques to
monitor grizzly bear populations and habitat and to document the status of
the grizzly bear population.
Later, in 1983, these agencies formed the Interagency Grizzly Bear
Committee, also including the state of Washington, the Bureau of Land
Management, province of British Columbia and the province of Alberta.
In addition, the team developed a conservation strategy for future
management of the Yellowstone population and its habitat should the species
be delisted. The strategy incorporates the best available science and
establishes an adaptive management framework that allows the Service and
its partners to adjust management guidelines in response to new scientific
information and/or environmental and population changes. State and federal
managers will continue to work cooperatively under this framework to manage
and maintain healthy grizzly bear populations throughout the Greater
Yellowstone area into the foreseeable future.
The proposal to delist the Yellowstone population of grizzly bears
will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, November 17. The
proposal and more information about today's announcement can be found at
http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/species ... wstone.htm
The public can submit comments on the proposal to: Grizzly Bear
Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University Hall 309,
University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812. Comments can also be sent
by electronic mail to [email protected]. All comments must
be received by February 15, 2006.
Grizzly bears are generally larger and more heavily built than other
bears. They can be distinguished from black bears by longer, curved claws,
humped shoulders and a face that appears to be concave. A wide range of
coloration from light brown to nearly black is common. The bear's coat
features longer guard hairs over a dense mat of underfur whose tips lighten
as the bear ages - hence the name "grizzly." In the lower 48 states, the
average weight of grizzly bears is generally 400 to 600 pounds for males
and 250 to 350 pounds for females. Grizzly bears are long-lived mammals
and generally live to be around 25 years old.
Grizzlies are opportunistic feeders and will consume almost any
available food including living or dead mammals or fish, grasses, roots,
bulbs, tubers and fungi. The distribution and abundance of these grizzly
bear foods vary naturally among seasons and years.
Biologists believe the Yellowstone area grizzly population and other
remaining grizzly bear populations in the lower 48 states and Canada are
markedly separate from each other, with no evidence of interaction with
other populations.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services
field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat
such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance
program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes
on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

- FWS -

For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov


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## ammoman (Dec 19, 2005)

Id have to holsters with 2 44 mag revolvers at the ready


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## the_rookie (Nov 22, 2004)

maybe if you switched that 44 to a 45 you wouldnt sound like such an idiot


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

Rookie, before you call someone a idiot you should make sure you know what you are talking about.


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## HUNTNFISHND (Mar 16, 2004)

Actually the .44 is more powerful than the .45!


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## Turner (Oct 7, 2005)

I read a story about an Alaskan outfitter and he talked about the .44mag for bear protection, he said it was a great gun if you could get the bear to hold still so you could hold it against his head and pull the trigger.


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