Bears, especially grizzly bears

3-25-2006. Dueling Scientists. Why Scientists Disagree on Grizzly Delisting. By Bill Schneider. New West.

3-23-2006. The prestigious Wildlife Society does support Yellowstone grizzly delisting. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette.

3-21-2006. Still Threatened? Grizzly Delisting Splits Scientific Community. By Bill Schneider. New West. Schneider was written two editions of "Where the Grizzly Walks: The Future of the Great Bear," and three editions of "Bear Aware."
3-21-2006. Scientists bemoan Yellowstone grizzly delisting proposal. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

3-19-2006. Sierra Club Submits 25,000 Comments Opposing Grizzly Delisting. By Tad Sooter. New West. Your comments on the proposed delisting of the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone are due on Monday. March 20. I can't see one favorable trend for the future food supply of the grizzly bear. The numbers of bears is up quite a bit from when the grizzly was listed back in the 1970s,, but no one has a very accurate population estimate. More important than the current number of bears is the fact that the "low-hanging fruit" in terms of helping the Greater Yellowstone griz has all been picked.

3-19-2006. Brodie Farquhar of the Casper Star Tribune discusses the question of how many grizzly bears are there?

3-13-2006. Budget cuts endanger dying whitebark pines, and grizzly bear in northern Idaho. Casper Star Tribune (from Spokane Spokesman-Review).

3-7-2006. My Take on Tim Treadwell. By Ralph Maughan. I wasn't going to do it, but here it is.

3-6-2006. Charlie Russell finally comments on Tim Treadwell and the movie "Grizzly Man."

3-3-2006. In a big surprise, Alberta suspends its spring grizzly bear hunt. Edmonton Journal. The hunt closure will extend for more than one year. Grizzly biologists have been worried about the declining grizzly population of the Province, mostly due to oil, gas and mineral development. The hunt took a toll on top of that.
3-4-2006. Alberta stuns environmentalists by suspending the grizzly bear hunt. By Dawn Walton. The Globe and Mail.

3-1-2006. Problems Proliferate as California Bears Do. Bruins’ healthy total of 33,000 in the state partly reflects their taste for humans’ high-fat food. By Gary Polakovic, LA Times Staff Writer.

2-23-2006. Grizzly bear wise food storage rules applied to entire Gallatin National Forest. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle.

2-23-2006. Grizzly conservationists criticize Alberta. Government accused of sitting on crucial data, changing role of expert who questioned hunt. By Doug Payne. The Scientist.
2-22-2006. Data just doesn't support Alberta's grizzly bear hunt. By Peter Zimmerman. ENGO representative. Alberta Grizzly Bear Recovery Team. Calgary, Alberta. Guest column in Headwaters News.

2-20-2006. Two lost worlds give us hope. Science Matters. David Suzuki.
2-19-2006. Great Bear Rainforest. Ten-year rainforest battle ends with historic land use agreement. Gordon Hamilton. Vancouver Sun.
2-19-2006. Bears finally saved from chainsaws. Ian Bailey, The Province (Vancouver Sun).
2-18-2006. Conflict to Consensus: British Columbia Protects Great Bear Rainforest. Environment News Service.
2-7-2006. Huge Canadian [British Columbia] Park Is Born of Compromise. By Doug Struck. Washington Post. This big reserve on and near the coast of B.C. is to conserve the rare white phase black bears in the area (Kermode or "spirit" bears). Of course, it will do much more than conserve bears, and it is some of the finest scenery on the planet.
-And a dissent as to whether this is a great victory, Feb. 11, 2006. "Great Bear hug: Environmentalists are cheering, but they are the losers in an agreement reached over B.C.'s last rain forest area." Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post.

Photos of "Spirit Bears"

2-20-2006. Human/grizzly conflicts decline in Wyoming in 2005. Casper Star Tribune.

2-18-2006. Wyoming will kill grizzly bears to restrict their range after the bear is delisted. Jeff Gearino. Casper Star Tribune.

2-15-2006. Period to comment on the greater Yellowstone grizzly delisting extended to March 20. By Perry Backus. Missoulian. This is important; please comment!

2-12-2006. Starving polar bears shame Bush to act. By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor. The (UK) Independent.

2-10-2006. Officials to trap more grizzlies in eastern Idaho this summer. Helena Independent Record "ISLAND PARK, Idaho (AP) - Officials plan to trap more grizzly bears in eastern Idaho's Island Park this summer and fit them with radio collars to get a better understanding of how many grizzlies are in the area and where they roam."
As an eastern Idaho resident I am extremely pleased that grizzlies are finally returning to Island Park to the west of Yellowstone Park.

2-10-2006. Bozeman public sounds off against grizzly delisting. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer. The National Wildlife Federation is one group that supports delisting the Yellowstone area grizzly. Their primary argument is that delisting shows that the ESA works. It seems like a good argument except, does anyone believe that delisting the grizzly will turn Richard Pombo and people like him away from their attempt to maul the Act?

2-8-2006. Lessons from Hunter/Griz encounters. By Brodie Farhquar. Casper Star Tribune.

2-3-2006. Alberta government demotes bear expert. Biologist called for end to grizzly hunt.
Renata D'Aliesio, Calgary Herald. Alberta is more a province of the oil industry than a province of Canada, and its wildlife is in ruins, and woe to anyone there who says otherwise.
Related. Role reversal. As grizzly bears become increasingly threatened north of the 49th parallel, Canadians look to the U.S. for solutions. By Jeff Gailus for Headwaters News

2-2-2006. Preliminary results of the giant DNA study of grizzlies in NW Montana show the central importance of Glacier National Park. The Hungry Horse News.

1-30-2006. Without grizzlies, Montana is just another Colorado. Quest opinion Bozeman Chronicle. By Janelle Holden.

1-29-2006. Good news. Historic ranch just north of YNP to be managed as grizzly habitat and more. Casper Star Tribune

1-28-2006. Agency: No delisting of grizzlies in Glacier area anytime soon. By Jim Mann. The Daily Inter Lake. In case anyone is confused, the proposed delisting of grizzly bears is for the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, not the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem, including and near Glacier National Park.

1-26-2006. Working for Bears or Barely Working? Conservationists blast public process; FWS says request for info "preposterous." Boise Weekly. Failure to provide scientific papers is an almost sure sign the science is not in order. These are not papers about how to build a nuclear weapon, they are about bears.

1-26-2006. Protecting grizzly bear costs $6K/year. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette Staff. Actually this method of figuring is misleading--number of dollars management spent, divided by number of bears. The reason is that much of the management is only indirectly related to the bears, and it's more misleading still with wolves ?"$3.2 million in 2004. . . If you use that year's official population estimate of 835, that's around $3,878 per animal." Much of management money spent on wolves is killing them after they kill livestock. Maybe a more interesting figure is dollars spent per cow (or sheep) protecting them from wolves (not per animal much figured that way).

1-22-2006. Grizzly 346: Her story begins in Yellowstone and end in Idaho. Idaho Statesman.

1-22-2006. Poachers put bite on grizzly recovery. By Sonja Lee Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer. Note this is the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (Glacier NP, Bob Marshall, Scapegoat, and Great Bear Wilderness and surrounding area), not the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

1-19-2006. David Quammen: Grizzlies aren't out of the woods. How safe are these Yellowstone bears from extinction? They're on an ecological island, which leaves them vulnerable. By David Quammen. Minneapolis Star-Tribune (from the New York Times)
David Quammen is the author, most recently, of "Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind.

1-14-2006. Vital Ground to protect land link for grizzlies north of Missoula. By Perry Backus. The Missoulian. The Swan Valley lies between the Bob Marshall Wilderness on the east and the Mission Mountain Wilderness to west. It is very scenic and forested, but grizzly bear migration between the two mountains has been threatened by the wrong kind of logging and real estate development.

1-14-2006. China refuses to abolish bear farms despite international pressure. By Tim Johnson. Knight Ridder Newspapers.

1-13-2005. Alberta gov't refuses release grizzly population Count. Edmonton Sun News. Given the considerable effort to collect the data, it must be pretty dismal.

1-11-2006. Forest Service rules may hinder grizzly delisting. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette. The Bush Forest Service essentially changed Forest Service standards to be met to legally weaker words like "desired conditions," "guidelines," etc. This is a classic political tactic of weakening management plans without attracting public attention, and so the delisted bear may not be protected.

1-10-2006. Bear Witness. What "Grizzly Man" tells us about Werner Herzog. By Christopher Orr. The New Republic. This is best review I have read about the film.

1-10-2006. Federal government working toward delisting grizzles. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

1-6-2006. Illegal killing of NW Montana grizzly bears prompts worries. By Becky Bohrer. Associated Press. Billings Gazette.

12-30-2005. Open houses scheduled for January in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming on greater Yellowstone grizzly bear delisting. By Michael Moore. Missoulian.

12-18-2005. Polar bears drown as Arctic ice shelf melts. The Sunday Times (UK). By Will Iredale. It's fascinating how the drowning polar bears are being covered in the non-US press, but in the American traditional media the story is "Environmentalists Sue to Protect Polar Bears." Perhaps making it appear that the disappearance of ice from the Arctic Ocean is a matter of dispute, not of fact.

12-6-2005. Delisting only starts next fight for grizzly bears. Column by Todd Wilkinson

12-1-2005. Yellowstone Park grizzlies seems to be doing Ok despite the collapse of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout fishery. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette. Well that's unexpected good news for the great bear. The fishery collapse is hurting some of the bird species.

12-2-2005. Yellowstone grizzly delisting shifts recovery efforts north. By Perry Backus. Missoulian

11-16-2005. Backstory: On the trail of an icon. A scary walk in the Tetons with grizzly bear researchers. By Scott Armstrong. Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

11-15-2005. Administration proposes to delist the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem (area). Here are recent stories about it:

11-20-2005. Grizzly delisting remains contentious issue. By Scott McMillion Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer. Folks don't doubt the grizzly has made a fine comeback in the Greater Yellowstone. Opposition to delisting  is related to distrust of the Bush Administration and the Congress, as long as this corrupt group is in the leadership. If there was an automatic legal trip-point where the grizzly would return to the threatened species list should state management fail, a lot of people who are not supporting delisting, would support it.

11-18-2005. Federal Bear Experts Opt Out of Enviro-Backed Forum. By Kirk Siegler. New West.

11-17-2005. Interior Secretary Norton launches grizzly delisting. Debate remains whether wildfire law was successful, will protect bears in future. By Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

11-16. Don't expect big changes [in grizzly management], WY Game and Fish official says. By Whitney Royster. Casper Star-Tribune environmental reporter.

11-16. Delisting Bear stirs emotions. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette.

11-16  Grizzly plan may open doors to big game hunts. It also gives bears some protection outside Yellowstone. By Rocky Barker. Idaho Statesman. There are just a handful of grizzly bears in Idaho's portion of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. I doubt they will be hunted. If a grizzly makes it from the Greater Yellowstone out of Eastern Idaho (west of I-15) is will be entitled to full protection of the Endangered Species Act. Go griz!! Central Idaho could support hundreds of grizzly bears.

11-15. Grizzly bear protection targeted by U.S. government. Reuters. By Patricia Wilson

11-15. Administration Announces Plans to "Delist" Grizzly Bear. Start of Public Comment Period. News release by the Sierra Club

11-15. Grizzly Bear to Be Removed from Endangered Species List. Outside Magazine on-line. By Devon Pendleton.

11-15. Grizzly may lose protection: Government to announce plans today. By John O'Connell. Idaho State Journal Writer. This is the view from Idaho. Idaho citizens crafted a good grizzly conservation plan for the state with people with diverse interests coming to a compromise. Then the Idaho politicians turned it into a poor plan. More and more we see this on many issues -- the radicals, the troublemakers who stir the pot -- are not angry citizens but our elected "leaders."

11-14-2005. A Grizzly Mystery in Montana. Economic Change, Antipathy on Animals Greet Bear Comeback. By Blaine Harden. Washington Post Staff Writer. Is Old West/New West cultural conflict at the root of increased grizzly killing in NW Montana?

11-14-2005. Americas. White House guns for grizzlies that are too good at survival. From Tim Reid in Washington. The Times. A major UK paper looks at the soon-to-be-announced delisting of the grizzly by the Bush Administration. The grizzly bear is currently doing well numberwise in the Greater Yellowstone. Unfortunately, every habitat trend is negative for the future, and the bear will be delivered to management under the incompetent Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. Thankfully Idaho and Montana are better, especially Montana.

11-13-2005. 11-13-2005. Illegal hunting of grizzlies threatens their recovery in the NCDE (much of NW Montana). By Bill Schneider. New West.

11-11-2005. Protecting grizzly bears important. Kalispell Daily InterLake. The brief editorial from the paper near the heart of the trouble zone argues that poacher fines must be increased.

11-8-2005. Bringing Back the California Grizzly. By Joe Eaton. Berkeley Daily Planet.

11-8-2005. Wyoming wildlife officials aim to manage grizzlies. Associated Press. They are unwilling to take the basic steps to prevent dread mad elk and mad deer disease from spreading into NW Wyoming, but we should let them manage grizzly bears at the state level. Yeh right!

11-4-2005. The near record number of NCDE grizzlies deaths in Montana is dominated by illegal kills. Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily Interlake. Half of the deaths in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem have been illegal. Worse, 80% of the illegal kills have been females. Rewards for apprehending poachers may be greatly increased.

11-2-2005. Hunter shoots, kills grizzly bear near Augusta, Montana. By Eve Byron. Helena Independent Record.

10-27-2005. Rash of grizzly deaths ends promising trend. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily Inter Lake. "A recent rash of grizzly bear deaths has driven the mortality toll for the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem closer to last year's unprecedented mark and erased a promising trend in the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear recovery area."
Related. 2004 was the worst year on record since 1975 for dead grizzlies in the NCDE. Here are the official mortality charts for 2004.

10-26-2005. Two plead not guilty to killing grizzly cub in Island Park, Idaho. AP. In addition a bow hunter has been fined $15,000 restitution for killing the grizzly cub's mother. He was a Kentuckian hunting in Idaho.

10-26-2005. Handling grizzlies: How much is enough? At least 5 percent of the West's grizzlies should wear radio collars, researchers say. Boise Weekly. By Colleen O-Brien. I'm not so sure grizzly don't a grudge. They have definite personalities. They are smart and they have good memories, especially of food, and the circumstances surrounding their success of lack of getting it. If we assume that bears can be aversively conditioned, and they can be, we can hypothesize that some bears may decide that on the basis of their experience,= people in general, as well as specific persons, merit an attack.

10-19-2005. Timothy Treadwell: My Friend the Grizzly Man. By Louisa Willcox. NRDC blog. There have been so many stories about Treadwell, I've given up trying to link to them all, but here Louisa Willcox gives her views, and there are not many people who have put more effort to grizzly conservation than Willcox.
My view is that the outpouring of controversy says more about us and the various writers than it does about Treadwell. Was he a fool and not surprising he got eaten? There is not an objective answer to this. He had many great summers among the bears. He did prove that grizzlies do not instantly attack people. We can coexist under certain conditions. He did so for many years despite hardly practicing what is considered proper behavior toward grizzly bears. I'm am impressed by that fact that it took many years, but, yet he did eventually get eaten, which doesn't surprise me either.

10-12-2005. Bears eat keeper who took their bile. A Chinese man has reportedly been killed and eaten by six bears in Shulan, Jilin province. What a pity!

Update 10-11-2005. Transplanted grizzly stays put in Cabinets. By Jim Mann. The Daily Inter-Lake. Well the bear hasn't exactly stayed put. She wandered 4 miles and is near the Idaho border, but she is in a good place for bears and fortunately did not head east (her original home).
10-3-2005. Sow grizzly bear released to augment the shaky bear population in the Cabinet Mountains of extreme NW Montana. By Jim Mann. Daily InterLake.

10-10-2005. Bow hunter shoots charging sow grizzly, both survive. By Marlo Pronovost. West Yellowstone News. The grizzly sow was shot with a .44, legal for bow hunters to carry for protection. She seems to have sustained a superficial wound. Carrying pepper spray is more effective, quicker, and more likely to have a successful outcome, although this instance was a lucky case.
Before pepper spray was invented and proven effective I used to carry a .41 handgun. I was glad to give up its weight for a canister of pepper spray.

10-10-2005. Glacier Park area grizzly put down after a number of "encounters." By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.

10-7-2005. Two grizzly bears killed by hunters. By Scott McMillion, Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer. One was near Cooke City, the other, near Anaconda, was covered in a previous article (see below on 10/1).

10-6-2005. Counting grizzlies. A feature article written and photographed by Kelley McLandress. for Headwaters News

10-4-2005. BBC columnist says delisting grizzly bears is a ploy by the energy interests. BBC. "A point of view" by Harold Evans.

10-1-2005. Grizzly illegally killed near Anaconda, MT. By Thad Kelling. The Montana Standard. This bear was well west of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. For those of us who hope grizzlies will naturally repopulate the vast bear habitat of central Idaho, this is a big disappointment.

10-1-2005. Behind the Grizzly Curtain. By Jeff Gailus. The Globe and Mail.

9-28-2005. Fewer grizzly sow, cub pairs seen in park. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette.
It's the fewest sows with cubs seen since 1997. On the other hand, this year there have been no sow mortalities so far, a rare situation.

9-28-2005. Grizzlies make inroads in Idaho. Casper Star Tribune. This is good news. Idaho has not pulled its fair share in grizzly recovery, and I can sympathize with Wyoming to a degree on this. If some folks there don't like so many grizzlies, they might wonder why Idaho is sitting there, full of habitat and almost no grizzly bears. Hopefully some of these grizzlies will walk to central Idaho and start a population there where it could eventually rival Yellowstone's. The response from the state legislator, Geddes, shows why wolf reintroduction rather than natural colonization was necessary in Idaho. Wolf opponents claimed they wouldn't have minded natural recolonization by wolves. Yeh right!

9-26-2005. As Population of Yellowstone Grizzlies Grows, Further Protection Is Up for Debate.
By Jim Robbins. New York Times. As to the question whether the grizzly will be relisted if delisting fails to protect the grizzly population, it is a purely a question whether an Earth-friendly regime is in power. The Bush regime won't do a thing to help. Through most of the last 50 years, America has been blessed by leaders that care at least somewhat about the outdoors. With luck this corrupt and incompetent presidency will be an  anomaly.

9-24-2005. Bears aren't out of the woods yet. By Doug Honnold. Guest editorial. Salt Lake Tribune.

9-24-2005. Idaho State Journal (Pocatello) editorial on plans to hunt grizzlies in WY and bison in MT.

9-16-2005. Grizzly attacks hikers near Shoshone Lake in Yellowstone. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer.

9-15-2005. Strong pine nut crop keeps Yellowstone bears in high country. Casper Star-Tribune Staff. This is a longer article than the one with the same title on the 14th.

9-10-2005. Aversive conditions program used to to scare grizzly family hanging around trailhead and campgrounds in Glacier NP. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.

9-5-2005. Female grizzlies [in NW Montana] are tracked to study population trends. By Jim Mann. Daily Inter Lake

9-5-2005. Take precautions when hunting in griz country. By Wyoming Game and Fish. Every season hunters in Wyoming are mauled and grizzlies shot. This could be minimized.

9-3-2005. Grizzly Politics in British Columbia: BC plays politics by endorsing a Bush administration proposal to de-list grizzlies from the Endangered Species Act. By Chris Genovali. Tidepool. Premier Gordon Campbell in Victoria runs a Bush-style government where politics comes first, but science last. Now they are interfering in American wildlife management.

9-3-2005. Grizzlies get fat on salmon, but toxins increase. Hazards: The fish, themselves carnivores, appear to have absorbed dangerous chemicals blown into the ocean from Asia. By Dan Joling. The Associated Press

9-1-2005. Montana man who fed bears on his land, creating nuisance, is jailed. By Carolynn Bright Helena Independent Record.

8-26-2005. Glacier NP Park visitors injured in apparent bear attack. Associated Press. It seems to have been a classic hikers-surprise-grizzly-with-cubs incident, a serious incident.
Update article 8-26. Glacier hikers attacked by grizzly, fall 30 feet. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.
Update article 8-27. Mauling victim sent to Seattle. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.
Update 8-30. Teen mauled by grizzly in good condition. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.
Update 9-11. Survivor recalls grizzly mauling. By Anne Kim. Associated Press. Missoulian.

8-21-2005. Feds may move Glacier NP grizzly bears into the beleaguered Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem grizzly population. By Becky Bohrer. Billings Gazette. The number or grizzlies in the Cabinet-Yaak (NW Montana right up against Idaho and up into Canada) continues to fall. The population is so small that it will likely wink out regardless whether they have enough habitat, unless more bears can be brought it. Glacier NP has about as many grizzlies as its habitat can support. Habitat problems do need to be addressed, however. My trip to NW Montana grizzly country this summer showed sanitation efforts to be very sloppy compared to the Greater Yellowstone. I haven't seen much of an effort in British Columbia either. There isn't even any indication to people that they are entering grizzly country in the southern Purcell Mountains or the Selkirks.
Note: the Cabinet-Yaak country is actually the south end of the Purcell Mountain range.

8-30-2005. Nothing gained by dragging Intelligent Designer into picture. By George F. Will. Washington Post Writers Group. This is a caustic attack on Treadwell and people the well known columnist thinks are like him . . . the back to nature folks in the 60s. Seems like every point of view is using Treadwell to advance their cause. George Will has always hated the 60s. To be blunt, I think it was because he didn't get laid back them. However, he has made a good living since whoring for the interests.
Nevertheless, whether nature is cruel, benign, or simply indifferent to human and other suffering is an important philosophical question.
8-19-2005. Alaska writer says bear fanatic was doomed by excessive zeal. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I don't like the headline. Nick Jans has written "The Grizzly Maze" about Treadwell. Unlike the headline, he portrays Treadwell as a tragic figure (tragic in the classic use of the word).
8-18-2005. Film Review: To the bears, a friend and victim. The New York Times printed in the International Herald Review. They can't get enough of Tim Treadwell, now better known in death than even during his controversial life among the Alaskan brown bears. A famous documentary film artist has taken on his life and death.
A question from me . . . why is death by grizzly regarded as so much worse than death by Alzheimers, cancer, or the myriad of other ends we will all face?

8-10-2005. Brown bears [grizzly bears] recolonize the Alps. UK Guardian Unlimited. By Barbara McMahon

8-8-2005. Groups Split Over Risks to Grizzlies in Yellowstone Park. Some Say Bears Should Stay on Endangered List. By Blaine Harden. Washington Post Staff Writer. Email discussion indicates this reporter was much more bent on finding (or claiming to find) a split among environmentalists than in grizzly bear management. Interesting that the Washington Post headline refers only to the Park, and all the controversy is this forest land outside the Park.

8-8-2005. Grizzly bears smell better than any other animal, brain analysis reveals. By Chris Petersen. Hungry Horse News. They smell 1000s times better than humans and better than any tracking dog.

8-7-2005. Experts: Grand Teton paths could boost bear conflicts. Biologists say putting network closer to road could minimize risks. Jackson Hole News. By Rebecca Huntington. There has been a controversy between grizzly bear supporters and bicyclists about where to put the new bike paths in Grand Teton National Park.

7-31-2005. Ecologist teaches trekkers grizzly tips. By Allison Batdorff. Billings Gazette Wyoming Bureau.

7-30-2005. Bear dogs being used in attempt to save grizzly bears in Glacier. Associated Press

7-26-2005. NW Montana research shows grizzlies in backyards a lot more than previously thought. By John Van Vleet. Hungry Horse News.

7-25-2005. Grizzly Bears keep officials busy in Upper Green River. By Cat Urbigkit. Casper Star-Tribune correspondent.

7-17-2005. Grizzly bounces back, But delisting huge predator spurs debate. By John O'Connell - Journal Writer. In same issue--same URL. "Politicians see advantages to delisting grizzlies." By Dan Boyd - Journal Writer. Yes, grizzly recovery has gone well, and the states have the resources, but, unfortunately, probably not the political desire to protect the delisted bear. In Dan Boyd's section the quotes from the three Idaho politicians say it all -- they don't like grizzlies and they are itching to get into grizzly country and change the habitat and get the grizzlies out. For example, "Teton County [Idaho] Commissioner Jay Underwood believes the presence of grizzly bears could hurt the region's tourism industry by discouraging visitors from venturing into the wilderness." In other words, get rid of grizzly bears in the core of their territory [the northern end of Jedediah Smith Wilderness] and he thinks some local folks will make more money.
"Fremont County Commissioner Paul Romrell said the federal protection of grizzly bears has not only hurt the local economy, but has created an increased fire hazard due to a moratorium on thinning old-growth forests.
"By listing them, we've essentially locked up our forests," he said. "Our hands have really been tied." In fact, timbering in Fremont County declined greatly because for 20 years it was based almost entirely on huge salvage sales. When most of the salvageable lodgepole pine was gone, the timber cut declined tremendously. Anyone who has ever been to Island Park or the Centennial Mountains knows that is not county where people are locked out of the forest. I wonder how many thousands of vacationers are there this Sunday?
The primary species people worried about logging harming on the Targhee was not the grizzly bear, but the elk.
My history of Targhee timber salvage program.

7-12-2005. Grizzly plan goes to Wyoming Game and Fish Commission today. By BOB MOEN
Associated Press writer. The controversy isn't really about grizzly bear numbers. The fact the Yellowstone Park grizzlies have rebounded and the Park contains as many bears as it can hold is not the point. The point is the Park is getting to be poorer and poorer grizzly habitat due to the decline in cutthroat trout populations (whirling disease and competition from illegally introduced lake trout), and the decline of whitebark pine which gives the bears high nutrition nuts. Probably less than half of the grizzlies out there live inside Yellowstone Park. The excellent habitat south of the Park in Wyoming is desperately needed. Whether grizzlies will be allowed to use it is the real issue -- the critical issue. Don't let politicians confuse you if they conflate Yellowstone Park with the Greater Yellowstone area, which for grizzly bears is mostly in Wyoming.
Note: they passed the plan, but I haven't heard a good commentary on the details.

7-6-2005. Aggressive griz sends hikers in Glacier NP scurrying. Highline trail closed, griz leaves, Park reopens it. By Chris Peterson. Hungry Horse News.

7-2-2005. Wyoming's grizzly bear is adopted, but under attack from both sides. Casper Star Review. By Brodie Farquhar.

7-2-2005. Victims of bear attack were wilderness vets. The Huffmans: Longtime local lawyer and teacher had taken every precaution. By Tom Kizzia. Anchorage Daily News. Although the story says that the Huffmans did everything right, the story doesn't make it clear they did. It doesn't mention possession of pepper spray. Did they have it?  They also camped on a river bank. Rivers like this a favorite travel (fishing) paths for bears. Although it appears to have been an unprovoked attack, the bear did not eat them, so it is assumption only that the attack was predatory.

6-22-2005. Complete detailed list of grizzly bears killed in NW Montana to date (2005).

6-21-2005. Wyoming's Grizzly bear plan plan goes to Game and Fish Commission. AP. Casper Star Tribune. This goes into effect once the grizzly is delisted. About 90% of the grizzlies of Greater Yellowstone live Wyoming. The rest are north and northwest of the Park in Montana, and just a couple bears in Idaho.

6-16-2005. Montana grizzly body count rises. by Paul Peters. Missoula Independent. Last year was the worst in for grizzly deaths in recent Montana history. Already this year grizzlies are being killed at a much higher rate than last.
Related 6-16. Fine for illegally killing grizzlies hiked to $8,000 in Montana. By Chris Peterson. Hungry Horse News.

6-8-2005. Yet another grizzly bear in NW central Montana is put down. Billings Gazette.

6-7-2005. 60 Minutes presents inaccurate, biased, segment on grizzlies near Cody, WY . . . "not in my backyard." The segment was clearly inaccurate from the beginning. Their argument was that there are too many grizzlies spilling out of Yellowstone and invading residential areas nearby. They focus on Wapiti, Wyoming, a new community (newer than grizzly recovery) and the obvious problem with people and bears there. Leslie Stahl focuses on one Wapiti family who, according to the program "moved . . . from California eight years ago. They built their dream house along a creek in Wapiti" [emphasis mine]. Because the place that is now Wapiti has always had grizzlies, and the pictured family moved from California recently and built in a grizzly bear travel zone (a creek), it is the people who are the invaders, not the bears. Stahl continues on for several minutes, asking leading questions, and appealing to fear, ad nauseam. Meanwhile they show photos and videos of bears in Wapiti, some of them black bears, mislabeled as grizzlies. . . another example of the low point American television investigative journalism has sunk. You can email 60 Minutes. Note many fine comments by grizzly bear experts have found their way to 60 minutes.
Well Wapiti is there. What can be done? The following article outlines some recent thinking (other than limiting grizzlies to the tiny confines of Yellowstone Park). Game and Fish seeks 'community' solutions for people and bears. By Whitney Royster. Casper Star-Tribune environmental reporter.

6-6-2005. Alberta grizzly nails jogger. It was the first grizzly to kill in person in Alberta since 1998. Edmonton Sun. This was a dangerous bear. Nevertheless, it is unwise to jog in grizzly (or mountain lion) country on paths with poor visibility. I see people jogging along the roads in Yellowstone Park, for example. Sounds great -- beautiful surroundings, clean air, etc., but not it's not a safe thing to do. Joggers have been killed by bison too.
6-7-2005. Bear attack victim was running on a closed trail: officials. CTV.ca News Staff
6-7-2005. Read more about this on "Grizzly Blog."

6-5-2005. First Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear death of the year comes in a government "management action." Casper Star Tribune.

6-3-2005. Grizzly spares black bear hunter in encounter near Hungry Horse Reservoir, Montana. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily InterLake.

6-3-2205. Bear shot in Cody, WY city limits. Billings Gazette.

6-2-2005. Another grizzly bear killed by Canadian Pacific train near Lake Louise. News release.

6-2-2005. Rangers Kill Aggressive black bear in Glacier NP. By Sonja Lee. Great Falls Tribune. Black bears are usually much less dangerous than grizzlies, but it is black bears, not grizzlies, that occasionally view people as potential food.

6-1-2005. Alberta man's kick fends off charging grizzly. CTV.ca News Staff.

5-18-2005. Gigantic grizzly dies after being hit by pickup truck. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer. This bear had to potential of becoming the largest in Yellowstone. He had never gotten to trouble. It's the first griz death of the year. Last year 17 grizzlies died in human caused incidents in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, far more than average. US 191 is a death trap for wildlife. Update. Buffalo Field Campaign says the giant bear was frightened into traffic by a Montana Department of Livestock helicopter. Montana DOL's bison thugs are allowed to fly helicopters deep into Yellowstone Park harassing wildlife -- essentially doing things that would gain the average American a prison sentence.

5-15-2005. It's national bear awareness week May 15 - 21. Story and schedule of events. Defenders of Wildlife.

5-12-2005. Grizzlies stir uproar: Big predators' future in Idaho is on the line. By Greg McReynolds Idaho State Journal City Editor. Most people don't realize there are grizzly bears in Idaho. The real challenge, however, is to get a population in central Idaho where biologists believe as many as 400 could roam. The big problem is, I'm embarrassed to say as an Idahoan, some Idahoans who lack the most minimum courage about the outdoors.
More 5-13-2005. Editorial Idaho State Journal.  Hubbub about Idaho grizzlies is way overblown. (Scroll down to second editorial to read). "Grizzlies belong in Idaho's vast wilderness. Hopefully, either with help or on their own, they'll return."

5-4-2005. Black Bear chases antler hunter up a tree in Wyoming. Jackson Hole Zone.

4-27-2005. WY Game and Fish Commission votes to adopt a new state grizzly bear plan for use when the bear is delisted. Billings Gazette. The grizzly would not be allowed to reoccupy the southern Wind Rivers, Wyoming and Salt River Ranges. Meanwhile as the bear remains on the threatened species list it will be allowed to expand its territory.

4-24-2005. Polar bears, grizzlies increasingly gather on North Slope. Rulers of tundra join rulers of sea ice in scavenging. By Doug O'Harra. Anchorage Daily News. Is it random change or do to oil development befouling the polar bear habitat plus global warming? Grizzlies seem on dominate the larger polar bears.

4-16-2005. Feature article: Bears with us. By Jessie McQuillan. Missoula Independent. More on Treadwell, grizzly bears, living with bears, and conditioning bears.
4-1-2005. 'Grizzly Man'. By Jim Mann. The Daily Inter Lake. The way some people die seems to get hashed over again and again, and now there is a movie out about the late Tim Treadwell who was eaten along with his girlfriend by a coastal grizzly bear back in 2003. You can look in the archives here for the flurry of discussion about Treadwell's death back in 2003. Archives 2000 - 2003

4-16-2005. Role reversal: As grizzly bears become increasingly threatened north of the 49th parallel, Canadians look to the U.S. for solutions. By Jeff Gailus. Headwaters News

4-8-2005. Wild Bill. Killing Bears With Kindness. By Bill Schneider. New West Travel and Outdoors. Schneider is author of a best selling book, Where the Grizzly Walks. It is now in a new edition.

4-8-2005. Wyoming releases new proposed grizzly bear plan. Associated Press. The comments, the largest response WY G&F has ever received in a public involvement process, contained nearly 76,000 individual statements on the proposal.

4-7-2005. DNA helps Montana state track bears in Snowy Mountains. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the Billings Gazette.

3-31-2005. 20 year battle to prevent Rock Creek mine in Montana resolved in favor of grizzly bears? By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.

3-27-2005. Global warming is destroyed key grizzly food source -- whitebark pine. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle. The species the article mention being infested in B.C. is not whitebark pine, but millions or acres of lodgepole pine. Unfortunately all of this is what we should expect with global warming -- deforestation one way or another -- direct death by insects, disease and fire, or elimination of the forest by logging in a vain attempt to deal with the former.

3-25-2005. Photographer, bear advocate cited for getting to close to Yellowstone bruins. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

3-24-2005. How to train a bear. Can human/bruin conflicts be resolved? By Mike Keefe-Feldman

3-17-2005. Community gets talking, comes up with ways to protect waking Tahoe area bears. By Megan Michelson. Tahoe World.

3-16-2005. Quebec poacher sentenced to $47,456 in Fines for Selling and Illegal Possession of Black Bear Gall Bladders. Environment Canada.

3-13-2005. A Grizzly bear in polar bear country. An odd occurrence or foretaste of things to come? Toronto Star.

3-10-2005. Board weighs future of Alaska's McNeil River bears. By Dan Fiorucci. KTUU.com

3-8-2005. Yellowstone bears begin waking from their wintertime slumber. By Mike Stark. The Billings Gazette. Not much carrion for them this springtime and not much moisture to make the early plants grow. They are going to have to rely on the wolf.

As if on cue, bears are shaking off their winter slumber and climbing out of dens in Yellowstone National Park.3-2-2005. Montana state representative proposes higher penalties for killing grizzlies. By Walt Williams. Bozeman Chronicle.

2-25-2005. Grizzlies may have passed the tipping point to extinction in the Banff NP area. By Mark Hume. The Globe and Mail.

2-17-2005. Idaho Fish and Game may end North Idaho grizzly bear education program. By Luck Dukes. Hagadone News Network

2-10-2005. Grizzly hunt campaigning to focus on 2006. By Jenn Lutz. Canmore Leader.
2-9-2005. Alberta grizzly bear hunt going ahead again. By Dustin Walker. Jasper Booster. Alberta's grizzly bear population has been plummeting. The province, which some still think of as a relatively unspoiled place, now only has about as many grizzly bears as Montana or Wyoming. Nevertheless, despite pleas, another year's grizzly hunt is going ahead -- 73 licenses out of a population of 500 - 700 bears. In perspective, however, probably 10 - 20 bears will be killed. The real problem for Alberta grizzlies is massive habitat destruction by road building, oil and gas development, including massive oil sand (tar) mines, and logging.

2-4-2005. Record number of comments on Wyoming's post-delisting grizzly plan. By Jeff Gearino. Casper Star Tribune. People really care about the Wyoming grizzly bears outside Yellowstone Park -- they seem to hate and fear them or love them. Given the amount of opposition in Wyoming to an adequate sized grizzly bear range, I wonder if a lawsuit like the recent successful one on wolves is needed to get all that prime, but vacant grizzly habitat in central Idaho and northern Washington state filled with bears. Central Idaho could support as many grizzly as Wyoming.

1-27-2005. Bow Hunter admits to killing Idaho grizzly back in 2002. Gets $15,000 fine. News Release. Some folks might remember the stories below. It's good to see justice finally done.
10-18-2002. Idaho Conservation Groups offer $8000 reward for info on killer of grizzly bears. News release.
10-5-2002. Two grizzly bears illegally killed in Eastern Idaho (on Sawtelle Peak). USFWS law enforcement news release. This is really irritating because grizzlies are not common in Idaho.

1-20-2005. Fremont county grizzly plan opposition mounts. By Brodie Farquhar. Casper Star-Tribune. Although this opposition masquerades as an attempt to stop the expansion of grizzly bears, it is in fact a radical effort to reduce their range, because grizzly bears have always lived in Fremont County. I see this as another attempt to push wildlife back into Yellowstone Park and make the Park a prison for nature.

1-14-2005. Record warm winter brings Estonian bears out of hibernation. Reuters. By David Mardiste. As a result the new cubs will probably perish.

1-14-2005. Timber salvage plan approved for Hungry Horse Res., MT. Road obliteration planned to reduce grizzly bear impacts. Kalispell Daily InterLake. By Jim Mann. "Salvaging" fire damaged timber has become increasingly controversial because of its potential long lived impacts. It looks like in this case the Forest Service is doing a fairly good job despite the protests from Montanans for Multiple [Motorized] Use."

1-10-2005. Grizzlies Losing Ground Around Yellowstone. Los Angeles Times via Yahoo News.
By Julie Cart Times Staff Writer. The northern Rockies wolf population and grizzly bear population is about the same. There is a huge difference because of the rapid replacement rate of lost wolves compared to the slow breeding grizzlies. Although the grizzly population has grown considerably since it was listed a generation ago, and many sources of mortality eliminated, the real challenge now is (1) sub-divisions moving into private inholdings on public land grizzly country; (2) a negative trend on almost every grizzly bear food source; (3) increasing conflict with hunters outside Yellowstone Park as grizzlies have learned that a gunshot in Sept. - Nov. likely means an easy meal of elk (4) In Wyoming bears and wolves have been made a scapegoat so folks will ignore other changes such as the massive oil and gas industrialization of former wide open spaces. Why worry about the destruction of the state when you can worry about bears!

1-7-2005. Grizzlies and brown bears in the backyard, oh my! By Becky Lomax. Whitefish, Mont.  Writers on the range.

1-7-2005. Defenders grizzly depredation payments down. By Mike Stark Billings Gazette Staff.

12-29-2004. Grizzlies in the cross hairs. By Tom Kenworthy, USA Today. "The killing of a grizzly bear and her two cubs near Glacier National Park in Montana this summer because they had become dangerously dependent on people symbolizes the latest battle in the West over the threatened animals."

12-25-2004. Bear cubs swamp Garden City, Idaho rehab. Center needs funds and labor to build roof to protect cubs. Idaho Statesman. Here is the center's web site.

12-21-2004. Grant will help Wind River Reservation manage grizzlies, wolves, grouse. By Brodie Farquhar Casper Star-Tribune. And so, while their neighboring White county commissioners and the group "Wyoming Sportsmen for Feeding and Whining" quaver and shake, Native Americans set a good example about grizzly bears.

12-17-2004. John Emmerich, Wyoming Game and Fish assistant Wildlife Division chief, has said comments on the proposed grizzly bear occupancy management plan have been extended from Dec. 31 to Jan. 14. Link to Grizzly Bear Occupancy Management Proposal.

12-16-2004. Bear supporters say griz should stay under federal protection and need all the habitat they now use. By Buzzy Hassrick. Cody Enterprise.
Related 12-16-2004. The National Forest plans might not protect grizzly bears enough. By Dan Boyd. Idaho State Journal Writer. The bear population is good now, but there isn't much in place  to protect enough habitat, and almost all habitat trends are down anyway. Regarding the statement of Teton County (Idaho) Commissioner Jay Calderwood who said "A significant amount of our income is tourism. People won't go into the wilderness if they know there are bears. We don't want any more bears - we think there's enough." There are almost no grizzly bears in Eastern Idaho, and people aren't as frightened as he thinks. He is an embarrassment to Idaho for appealing to fear. Tourists in particular don't seem to fearful.

12-14-2004. Grizzly bears hit hard this year. By Jim Robbins. New York Times. This year's high mortality is getting national attention.

12-12-2004. How to manage bears responsibly. Kalispell Daily InterLake editorial.

12-10-2004. Cody crowd questions grizzly plan. By Allison Batdorff. Billings Gazette Wyoming Bureau. By email, I heard this meeting was more civil. Now more details. . .12-14. G&F plan limits grizzly bear range - By Buzzy Hassrick. Cody Enterprise. Limiting grizzlies to NW Wyoming is not a big problem, it's how the bear is managed outside the core grizzly area. Contrary to what some in important county officials have said Park and Fremont County have always had some grizzly bears, even when the bear population was at its lowest in about 1975.

12-8-2004. Grizzly mortality way too high here --NW Montana. By Casey Dunn. Hungry Horse News. There have been other articles about this, but, boy was it a miserable year for getting grizzly bears getting killed in the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem -- the worst since 1974. A lot of bear foods failed this year, and there are all new vacation property owners. Most are good folks, but there are some who don't understand living in grizzly country is a bit different, and food sources outside need to be secured. The Blackfoot Indian Reservation is a big problem area too. . .  apparently a lot of garbage lying around.

12-8-2004. Wyoming Game and Fish says unknown folks deliberately spreading lies about the grizzly bear management proposal. By Brodie Farquher. Casper Star-Tribune correspondent

12-8-2004. Dubois, Wyoming crowd grills Wyoming G&F on grizzlies. By Brodie Farquher. Casper Star-Tribune correspondent. 12-10. I keep getting more info on these meetings. My best guess now is that the Riverton meeting was out of control with violence a possibility. The Dubois meeting was more restrained. The bottom line though is that Wyoming Game and Fish Commission (always my least favorite state wildlife commission) plans to decimate the grizzly population except right around the Park as soon as they get their hands on the bear (kind of like their wolf management plan). I think, many of the powers in Wyoming essentially think Yellowstone Park should be Wyoming's prison for nature (and Wyoming's cash register). I think that's unpatriotic and un-American.

12-8-2004. Fremont residents: Limit grizzlies to parks. By Brodie Farquher. Casper Star-Tribune correspondent. These folks don't want to just limit bear expansion. Their proposal (just in the Parks) severely reduces it.
Earlier on this-
11-19-2004. Folks in Jackson more favorable to grizzly bear's having a large range than folks in Afton, Wyoming. By Whitney Royster. Casper Star-Tribune environmental reporter
The remaining public meeting schedule:
* Nov. 30 Laramie, Room 117 in the UW Classroom Building
* Dec. 1 Casper, Game and Fish Regional Office
* Dec. 2 Sheridan, CTEL Presentation Hall at Sheridan College
* Dec. 6 Dubois, Headwaters Arts and Conference Center
* Dec. 7 Riverton, Holiday Inn
* Dec. 8 Thermopolis, Bighorn Federal Savings Bank
* Dec. 9 Cody, Holiday Inn
11-16-2004. Green River Residents worry about grizzly hunting, genetics. By Jeff Gearino. Casper Star Tribune Southwest Wyoming bureau.

12-5-2004. Wandering Montana grizzly bear intrigued the world. By Sonja Lee. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer. Most folks will remember the sage of guns hot grizzly 144 (Kathy) and her 2 cubs back 2 years ago. All has turned out well.

12-2-2004. Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem Human caused [grizzly bear] mortality issues. USFWS Grizzly Recovery. This fine pdf file of maps and charts was presented NCDE subcommittee meeting on December 1, 2004.

12-2-2004. Grizzly toll in Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem reaches 31 for the year. Outrageous! By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily InterLake. "A total of 31 grizzly bears have died or been removed from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem this year, prompting a committee of land and wildlife managers to take steps toward curbing the problem. 'It's huge,' Flathead Forest Supervisor Cathy Barbouletos said. 'The question is why. And what can we do about it?' "

It looks like the problem is all these rural sub-divisions springing up with just enough people in them thinking they still live in the city and so leaving out food that attracts the bears.

12-2-2004. Federal money OK'd to finish grizzly bear DNA study. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily InterLake.

12-2-2004. Conservationists Seek Stronger Grizzly Bear Protections in north Idaho and extreme NW Montana. National Forest roads at issue. EarthJustice.

12-1-2004. Top grizzly researcher calls for big B.C. grizzly corridor. The Globe and Mail. By Mark Hume.

11-19-2004. Outlook good for bear cubs. By Whitney Royster. Casper Star-Tribune environmental reporter.

11-19-2004. Wyoming hunter frets over grizzly cubs' fate. By Whitney Royster. Casper Star-Tribune environmental reporter.

11-19-2004. SO WHAT ABOUT THIS PLAN? Grizzly plan offers varying degrees of protection. Associated Press. Billings Gazette.

11-8-2004. Wyoming Game and Fish refines grizzly plans. By Jeff Gerino. Casper Star-Tribune staff writer. List of meetings in article above. If you support grizzly bears and live in or near Wyoming your really need to get to one of these meetings.

11-2-2004. Game Board considers predator control plan. INTERIOR: Grizzlies and wolves targeted to aid moose and caribou hunters. By JOEL GAY. Anchorage Daily News.
10-29-2004. Defenders of Wildlife Opposes Alaska Board of Game Plan to Double the Size of the Aerial Wolf Killing Program. Yahoo Financial News. Grizzly Bears and Wolves on Federal Lands Also Targeted. Alaska's Board of Game seems to have gone nuts. How do they think they can legally shoot bears and wolves in national parks?

10-31-2004. Powerful InterAgency Grizzly Committee meets this week. By Whitney Royster. Casper Star Tribune.

10-29-2004. Reward offered in northern Idaho grizzly bear poaching. Kootenai Valley News. Grizzly bears are on their last legs in northern Idaho (the Selkirk population of the bears).

10-27-2004. Where to allow Greater Yellowstone grizzlies? By Jeff Gearino. Southwest Wyoming bureau. This is an incredibly important decision. Few people would have problems not allowing grizzlies in the Bighorn Mtns., Snowy Range or Sierra Madres, but around Yellowstone it is a huge differences if grizzlies are allowed to wander into the top of the Wind Rivers, remain in the Gros Ventres and the Absarokas or whether they will be restricted to the deficient line drawn in the 1980s. Given the deterioration of habitat in Yellowstone Park, grizzlies will need more country to survive in the area; and given the high mortality of grizzlies this year (beyond the limit), I have to wonder if we are really now in a position to delist.

10-27-2004. Famished bears on the prowl in NW Montana. By Michael Jamison. The Missoulian. Given all the stories about hungry bears getting into "trouble" and the huge number of grizzly bear deaths this year, I'm worried about the NW Montana grizzly bear population. There's got to be more to the story than a failed berry crop.

10-26-2004. Maryland Bear Season Begins and Ends. Officials Call Halt After 20 Are Killed. By David A. Fahrenthold. Washington Post Staff Writer. It was the first bear hunting season in 51 years.

10-25-2004. Bears on ballots: Should baiting be allowed? Voters in Alaska and Maine will decide. MSNBC.

10-25-2004. South Fork grizzly bear attacks Cody hunter. Cody Enterprise. By Jami Badershall. He came over a hill and a griz with her cubs were on the other side.

10-25-2004. Trash bins 1, hungry bears 0. By Sonja Lee. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer. Trash bins are keeping grizzlies out of trouble on the Rocky Mountain Front.

10-21-2004. Hunters beware, there are ravenous bears in those hills. By Michael Babock. Great Falls Tribune Outdoor Editor.

10-14-2004. Official: Grizzly shooting appears legitimate. Casper Star Tribune. This refers to the incident widely reported below related to the 2nd grizzly attack on a Gilette, WY hunter.

10-14-2004. State agencies, conservation groups debate impacts of states? grizzly management plan. Alison Grey. Montana Kaimin. "Protecting and managing Yellowstone-area grizzly bears will continue long after they are removed from the endangered species list, said Christopher Servheen, a United States Fish and Wildlife biologist in Missoula."

10-8-2004. Woman mauled by grizzly in southern Alberta, escapes to find help. Canadian Press. The last few weeks have had many stories of bear maulings.  This is the most dangerous time of the year. Human hunters are silently stalking deer, elk, and moose. Bears are trying all means to fatten up for the winter and are often in unexpected places. In many places the bears also know that a rifle shot means discarded remains of a successfully hunted deer or elk, and they approach the area where they heard the shot.
10-8-2004. Man gored by bison, another mauled by grizzly in Yellowstone Park. Bozeman Chronicle. By Scott McMillion.

10-8-2004. Three bears removed from Bozeman, MT neighborhood. By Joan Haines. Bozeman Chronicle.

10-6-2004. South Fork of the Shoshone area residents erect bear fence around school playground. Cody Enterprise. By Jami Badershall.

10-9-2004. Wary in the forest. By Whitney Royster. Casper Star-Tribune environmental reporter. Given the recent grizzly/hunter run-ins, this is about hunting elk in Wyoming grizzly country. I side with the tough hunters who believe hunting in grizzly country adds to the adventure. Yet the softies go elsewhere.
Story on the second grizzly attack on a Gillette, WY hunter. 10-6-2004. Grizzly mauls another hunter. By Whitney Royster. Casper Star Tribune. Lots of grizzly/hunter problems were anticipated this year when the whitebark pine nut crop failed. The prediction was oh so correct.
10-6-2004. Another Gillette, WY hunter attacked by grizzly bear. KOYA Territory News.
10-12-2004. Indiana man killed grizzly bear in attack. Billings Gazette. "An Indiana man who shot and killed a grizzly bear that had just mauled his friend during a hunting trip in Wyoming says he wept after the 600-pound animal crashed to the ground, mortally wounded."
Earlier story (on the first Gillette, WY hunter) 9-23-2004. Gillette, Wyoming hunter survives grizzly mauling in the Teton Wilderness. By Whiney Royster. Casper Star Tribune. This part of the Teton Wilderness (Pilgrim Creek and Kitten Ridge) is thick with griz. From my experience doing our hiking guide to the area, I could see this happening to us.
9-25-2004. Grizzly attack does not scare Gillette man from hunting in future. Gillette News Record.

9-30-2004. 'Slobs' force officials to kill grizzly bear near YNP East Entrance. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette. With this death, the "mortality threshhold" for GYE bears has been exceeded for the first time since 1997.

Second story on the bear. North Fork Grizzly put down. Whitney Royster. Casper Star Tribune.

9-30-2004. Another grizzly killed by a train near Glacier NP; black bears captured accidentally.
Associated Press.

9-30-2004- Another black bear in Bozeman. By Joan Haines. Bozeman Chronicle.

9-28-2004. Summary of 2004 grizzly bear mortalities in Wyoming and Montana to date. This was emailed to me and I made it into a pdf file.

9-26-2004. Billings Gazette opinion: Yellowstone grizzlies, roaring success complicated by controversy.

9-23-2004. On the Side | With huckleberries, a harvest of questions. It's been a lean year for foragers human or ursine. By Rick Nichols. Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist. Is the wild huckleberry market taking one of the best natural foods of bears? This is especially relevant given the story below about 7 bears being put down in less than a week in NW Montana and the other stories of bears in the city of Bozeman looking for food.

9-23-2004. Fatal attraction. Berry crop shortage brings hungry bears to town. By Christine Hensleight. The Whitefish (MT) Pilot. "Sadly, seven bears have been put down over the last five days, a number that state bear biologist Eric Wenum sees as entirely preventable."

9-23-2004. The three bears are out of their tree and cruising Bozeman. By John Haines. Bozeman Chronicle.
9-21-2004. Bears in Bozeman delay mail carrier. By Joan Haines. Bozeman Chronicle.

9-22-2004. Pepper Spray was not effective in recent bear encounter because it was too old. By  Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Jackson Hole News and Guide. Don't buy a can and carry it season after season. Make sure you get an EPA approved brand.
The original story. 9-2-2004. Mountain bikers battle grizzly bear near the Pinnacle Buttes. By Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Jackson Home News and Guide. This is a great story with a good ending.
I have my own "bear story" from this place. Some years a friend and I were camped at this location (Basin Creek Meadows) with his dog. It was a cloudy and moonless night and bear sign was frequent. During the night his dog outside the tent let out several horrible cries of pain. We turned on the flashlights and got our pepper spray but the dog was gone! However, we could see no bear. We called the dog and no answer. After a sleepless night, his dog showed up at about 9am with his face full of porcupine quills.

9-21-2004. A journey far from over: People and bears must find ways to coexist. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette. Here is yet another grizzly bear story from the Billings Gazette. That newspaper has really done a great job covering grizzly bears this week.

9-21-2004. Humans employing containers that are bear-proof. Billings Gazette.

9-21-2004. Prevention is the key in grizzly bear management. By Allison Batdorff. Billings Gazette.

9-20-2004. The skills to survive: Grizzlies has shown it can adapt to almost any environmental condition. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette.

9-20-2004. Bitterroots may be crucial to grizzly recovery. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette Staff. If you go back to the year 2000, when this bear news web page was started, federal plans were underway to reintroduce the grizzly to central Idaho ("the Bitterroots").  See Grizzlies OK'd for Bitterroot. By Sherry Devlin. Missoulian. March 10, 2000. The election of George Bush and his Secretary of Interior appointee Gale Norton put an end to those plans.

9-19-2004. This year's grizzly deaths hit limit set by U.S. By Robert W. Black. Associated Press. Billings Gazette. If one more grizzly is killed this year in the Greater Yellowstone (in the primary recovery area at least), the federal government is supposed to drop their plans to delist the great bear next year. There have been a lot careless drivers this year in Yellowstone Park. Servheen is likely blowing smoke about how all is well, so lawyers no doubt are getting ready to file those lawsuits that keep the government on track.

9-19-2004. Northern Divide Grizzly Bear Project Wraps Up. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily Inter Lake. This massive grizzly fur collection and DNA analysis is an expensive and high tech effort to try to determine how many grizzly bears inhabit the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem in NW Montana.

9-15-2004. Grin and bear it. Eldridge man survives terror in wilds. By Bill Wundram. Quad Cities Times News. Here is a recent Wyoming grizzly attack I hadn't heard about. The pepper spray didn't work this time, but the gun did.

9-14-2004. New Food Storage Rules in Effect for Gravelly and Tobacco Root Mountains. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle. Grizzly bears have been expanding to fill up the Gravelly Range and perhaps the Tobacco Root Range -- two mountain ranges in the NW corner of the Greater Yellowstone. Both grizzlies and black bears are very hungry this fall and could give hunters a lot of trouble around camp.

9-12-2004. Grizzly's future at stake: Decision on whether to delist bruins is expected early next year. By Dan Boyd. Idaho State Journal Writer.

9-11-2004. Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear cub count up. AP. Casper Star Tribune. If this number holds, it will give strong support for delisting, however, the problem with the delisting proposal, at least on Forest Service lands, is that much of the best habitat, that to the east of Jackson Hole which has filled up with grizzlies, is not scheduled for any protection.

9-9-2004. Two Yellowstone Park grizzlies killed this week. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette. Vehicles have killed six times the average number of grizzlies run over in the average year in Yellowstone. The vehicle death was a huge male grizzly. The second death was "control" of a grizzly causing trouble near the Pebble Creek campground.

9-7-2004. Bears keep NW Montana wardens running this late summer. By Sherry Devlin. Missoulian. "Some days, it seems like there's a bear in every back yard in western Montana."

9-6-2004. Scientists use grizzly bear hair to study cutthroat trout. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer. Cutthroat trout from Yellowstone Lake are naturally mercury laden, and grizzlies eat fewer of them than previously thought.

9-3-2004. Accidental bear death from cracker shell prompts Yellowstone protocol changes. By Marlo Pronovost. West Yellowstone News.

9-2-2004. Door crashing grizzly killed.  By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily Inter Lake. Not a happy ending! The Kalispell area has been a real death trap for grizzlies lately. One reason is probably the failure of the huckleberry crop in NW Montana so the bears are looking everywhere for food to get them through hibernation.
9-2-2004. Cody area black bear killer not charged despite stupid behavior. Cody Enterprise.

8-27-2004. Watch Out: Small pine nut crop means Yellowstone grizzlies will wander far. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer. In the Greater Yellowstone the size of the whitebark pine nut crop in the fall has been repeatedly shown as one of the most critical factors for grizzly bear nutrition. In good years, the bears stay way up high in the fall, largely away from humans. Last year was a great nut crop year, but this year's is not. The grizzlies will be down low. They will be seeking all kinds of alternative food for their winter fast. One can easily predict, some fools who don't know this are going to get mauled and grizzlies are going to die. Carry pepper spray and be bear aware in the Greater Yellowstone. One bonus, is should you not, the story of your encounter will be posted to this page.

8-27-2004. Wyoming G&F, national forests at odds over bear baiting. Associated Press. Billings Gazette. In fact, Wyoming G&F Dave Moody's statement in favor of the bear baiting stations -- they don't condition bears to human food because they are lured there to be killed -- contradicts what bear hunters say in defense of bear baiting. Bait hunters say a station allows them to look at a number of bears before they pick one to shoot.  If so, then plenty of bears are conditioned by the bait stations.

8-21-2004. Hungry NW Montana grizzly bears are venturing far afield. By Sonja Lee. Great Falls Tribune. This is due to a late spring cold snap that wiped out a number of wild berry crops for the year. Some grizzlies are setting up territories in the sparsely populated plains east of the Rockies. This situation does not apply to the grizzlies of the Greater Yellowstone.

8-21-2004. Black bear captured near Kalispell courthouse. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily Inter Lake.

8-21-2004. Bear downs 36 beers, passes out at campground. Rainier, not Busch, the beverage of choice for thirsty black bear. Associated Press. MSNBC

8-20-2004. Noisy ecotourists may boost bear numbers. New Scientist. At least this may be indirectly true near important bear fishing streams.

8-19-2004. Who's been sleeping in my tree? By Janet Urquhart. The Aspen Times. "Anyone without a bear story to tell in Aspen [Colorado] this summer is an outcast at the office water cooler."

8-19-2004. Alberta grizzlies 'barely hanging on.' Study warns bears could face extinction in 'inhospitable' southwestern region. Globe and Mail.  Sad, but the Alberta government cares about little expect energy development.

8-14-2004. Grizzly spooks horse, rider near Big sky. Pepper spray saves the day. By Joan Haines. Bozeman Chronicle.

8-14-2004. "Nuisance bear" shot in front of crowd at jazz festival in Kaslo, British Columbia. By Bill Metcalfe. The Tyee.

8-13-2004. Berries have drawn NW Montana bears down to the valleys. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily InterLake.

8-12-2004. Grizzly may have killed hiker in Teton Wilderness. Jackson Hole Zone.
8-13-2004. Hiker froze to death. By Rebecca Huntington. Jackson Hole Zone.
8-16-2004. Sheriff closes inquiry into the death of hiker without finding his gear or exactly how he got hypothermic. By Rebecca Huntington. Jackson Hole Zone

8-11-2004. Fermented fruit gets dumped in dispute; Flathead grizzly can't resist. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily InterLake.

8-7-2004. Bear kill total: B.C. 867, Washington 11. By Nicholas Read. Vancouver Sun. The RCMP is much tougher, and/or less competent, with "problem" bears than Washington state game wardens.

7-26-2004. More habitat than is commonly understood is available in tri-state area for grizzlies to occupy. By Joan Haines. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer.

7-24-2004. Young grizzly hit on Highway 200 in Montana. Truck driver prevents passers-by from cutting off souvenirs. Great Falls Tribune.

7-23-2004. Conservationists develop baseline for grizzly bear population. Lake County Leader. This is another feature story on the big grizzly DNA population estimation project (see article below too).
7-12-2004. Collecting grizzly fur for giant bear DNA study is hard work. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily Inter Lake.

7-9-2004. Neurosurgeon will take closer look at inner workings of grizzly bear brains. By Chris Peterson. Hungry Horse News.

7-5-2004. Grizzly counting in Montana's Northern Rockies so far snag-free. By Sonja Lee. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer. Using the latest technology to try to find out how many grizzlies there are in NW Montana.

7-5-2004. Grizzly gets a root canal. By Candace Chase. Kalispell Daily Inter Lake.

7-4-2004. Alberta grizzly bear kills down to six. Conservative approach cuts last year's hunted by two-thirds. By Nadia Moharib. Calgary Sun. This is good news inasmuch as the grizzly has declined so fast in Alberta that the province now probably has fewer grizzlies than Montana to the south.

7-3-2004. Choteau, Montana, man receives $2,000 fine for killing grizzly. By Mike Babcock. Great FallsTribune Outdoors Editor. The miscreant killed the bear on the Rocky Mountain Front and hid the evidence and destroyed the radio collar. I got the following email about the case: "Here's a clear example of why neither federal nor state wildlife agencies can be trusted to adequately protect grizzlies under the current way of prosecuting offenders. First, they're scared to prosecute at the federal level, even for serious cases  such as this, for fear of riling the right wingers or getting an acquittal. Second, local court's max. fine is $3000 and no one ever gets even 1 day in jail. A total "kiss on the wrist" system that demonstrates there are NO "adequate regulatory mechanisms" to protect grizzlies as required by the ESA.
 This guy intentionally killed a grizzly, intentionally cut off/destroyed the collar and buried the animal (twice) to hide his crime, and gets off with a $2000 fine and no jail time. If this is how Montana "protects" grizzlies when they're listed as Threatened, what fresh horrors might we anticipate if the bears are delisted and they regain full management control???"

6-20-2004. Yellowstone surprises 2 grizzlies. Suffers minor injuries. Yellowstone Park News Release.

6-16-2004. Tent-pouncing grizzly bear collared in Yellowstone Park. Billings Gazette Staff. This bear was recently collared at Round Prairie, a place all wolf watchers in the Park are familiar with.
6-16-2004. Reefer madness: Grizzly with penchant for human treats captured and marked. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer. I'm glad to have this story confirmed.  I had heard last year that the grizzly that pounced on the tent, got a tent with some marijuana in it, but I didn't know if it was but a rumor.  So let me add to the story. A second tent that another grizzly pounced on also had marijuana (or so I heard).

6-15-2004. Three face criminal charges in NW Montana grizzly bear deaths. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.

6-12-2004. Corn spill near Glacier still a bear of a problem. Grizzly cub that was thought killed by a train sighted, still alive. By Chris Peterson. Hungry Horse News.
Earlier. 5-3-2004. Corn-spill cleanup aiming to save bears. By Jim Mann. The Daily Inter Lake.
4-22-2004. Massive train derailment next to Glacier NP threatens grizzlies. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily InterLake. Spillage of grain from the trains has for years resulted in the death on the rails of many grizzly bears attracted by the grain. Now the railroad has had a new and very large accident spilling corn.
4-22-2004. Train derails near Glacier Park. By Michael Jamison. The Missoulian.

6-9-2004. Spring rain boosts forage plant growth for grizzlies [on the Rocky Mountain Front, Montana] By Melody Martinsen. Choteau Acantha editor.

6-6-2004. US Black Bear Population Threatened by Underground Market for Medicinal Cures. Rosanne Skirble. Voice of America News.

- 5-30-2004. Grizzly bears may be taken off endangered species list. By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post. One error. Grizzlies are not on the endangered species list, nor have they ever been. They are on the threatened species list. So the Bush Administration plan is to remove all federal protection. Another error is the statement that most grizzly territory is in the national parks. Were that the case the delisting would not be so controversial, but in fact the grizzlies range far beyond Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, thickly inhibiting most of the country within 15 miles of the parks (and more south of Yellowstone, and less west of Yellowstone in Idaho.).

- 5-29-2004. Feds were not told of killings of three grizzlies in NW Montana. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily InterLake. So 16 Grizzlies rather than 13 were killed in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in 2003. Good to see the guys who killed the bears get good fines.
I got this comment by email from a grizzly specialist in Montana: "Unfortunately, this is a fairly common occurrence, where some Montana FWP. Wardens think grizzly mortality data is their own private stash, with mere mortals in the public to be told as late as possible. This time the USFWS Grizzly Coordinator was also left out of the loop."

- 5-28-2004. Report says Albert's grizzlies might soon be completely wiped out. Science Daily.

- 5-28-2004. Montana state grizzly plan could include a hunt for bruins. By Richard Hanners. Hungry Horse News. When the grizzly is delisted, Montana might have a grizzly bear hunt. Their planning document says
 "FWP believes hunting can play a role in addressing human safety issues," a planning document for a bear management plan in southwest Montana said. "Properly conducted hunting programs can impact the behavior of the hunted population, making them wary of people."
Twenty-five years ago I mouthed stupid ideas like this . . . "hunting will make grizzlies wary."  Then I realized that grizzlies are solitary animals and dead grizzlies don't tell other bears to watch out. Hunting wolves, a pack animal, might make them wary of humans, but not grizzlies. If Montana schedules a hunt, they should admit it is for political reasons -- they want to change some high fees and appease some politicians who say grizzlies don't pay for themselves unless they are mounted.

- 5-15-2004. Defenders of Wildlife changes policy: stops paying for sheep kills by grizzly bears in Absaroka-Beartooth wilderness. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle. This is a sensible and overdue decision. Wilderness is our primeval heritage. You expect big and small predators there if they were there originally. Domestic sheep are not native to congressionally designated Wilderness and ranchers who graze there get a huge discount in fees just like they do on all public lands. They don't need a private subsidy too. Is there anyone who is surprised that sheep might get eaten by bears, wolves and cougars in the mountain fastnesses that we protect for their wild nature?
- 5-27-2004. Clarification of the above story. By Minette Johnson. Defenders of Wildlife. This letter was sent to the Bozeman Chronicle and emailed to those interested in grizzly bears (like me).  It seems McMillion (see article above)  got the reasons wrong, although I personally believe all payment for depredations of bears and wolves on public land sheep inside designated Wilderness should be eliminated -- it's WILDERNESS, land of wildlife, not livestock!

- 5-27-2005. Memo to Canadian Grizzly Bears: Avoid Lake Louise.  National Post. Randy Boswell. CanWest News Service. One of the most scenic spots in Canada has been the deadliest to grizzly bears.

- 5-25-2004. Number of grizzly cubs in the Greater Yellowstone dropped in 2003. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette.

- 5-25-2004. Young lamb-killing grizzly bear SE of Ennis, MT, caught, released. By Scott McMillion. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer.

- 5-25-2004. Massive bear study ready to start in Montana. By Jim Mann. The Kalispell Daily InterLake. This is an expensive effort to determine just how many grizzlies inhabit the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in Montana. There are many bears, but the status of the population is less well known than in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem to the south. The article indicates that already very interesting information about the area's grizzly bears has been gathered.

- 5-23-2004. Grizzly bears clawing their way back in West. By Brent Israelsen. Salt Lake Tribune. Delisting of the Greater Yellowstone grizzly population is around the corner, but food source trends make bear supporters pessimistic about the long term futre of the great bear.
- 5-23-2004. Comeback of grizzly in Utah is unlikely. By Brent Israelsen. The Salt Lake Tribune.

- 5-22-2004. Ban on import of British Columbia trophy grizzlies to the U.S. sought. By Sarah R. Craig. Associated Press. The Liberal Party government of British Columbia is one of the worst in North America on environmental issues. American activists are trying to do something about the province's overhunting of grizzlies, most of which are American hunters.

5-19-2004. Delayed spray stops shoe-munching grizzly in Glacier NP. By Chery Sabol
The Daily Inter Lake.

5-17-2004. Grizzlies have a great time trying to break into bear resistant containers for the benefit of research. By Rebecca Huntington. Jackson Hole News and Guide. The grizzlies love trying to break into containers. It keeps them from captive boredom and benefits products for safe use in grizzly country.

5-13-2004. Three grizzlies killed in Wyoming in May [so far]. By Buzzy Hassrick. Cody Enterprise Staff writer.

5-12-2004. Conservation groups appeal Forest Service for failure to close roads they promised to protect the small grizzly bear population of northern Idaho and extreme NW Montana. Billings Gazette. AP

5-9-2004. Fearless dogs scare away bears with tough love. By Elizabeth M. Gillespie. AP. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It seems to work!

5-5-2004. Aware of bears. Helena Independent Record. Feature by Martin J. Kidston.

4-21-2004. Grizzly Bear Recovery Lags in Washington State. By Elizabeth M. Gillespie, Associated Press Writer.

4-17-2004. First dead grizzly bear of the year. Bear was shot by Wyoming Game and Fish after breaking windows and damaging outbuildings. News release.
4-20-2004. More on the first dead grizzly of the Year. Article by Mike Stark. Billings Gazette.

4-19-2004. Tiffany's, Montana town clash over proposed mine under a Wilderness area in grizzly country. By Tom Kenworthy, USA Today. I wonder why Libby embraces the mine despite years of its residents suffering from the health and ill economic effects from past resource extraction industries? Communities that got away from the Old West economy have proposed, as the article indicates.

4-18-2004. Grizzlies in southwest Alberta awake to road kill feast. AP. Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

4-18-2004. Greater Yellowstone Coalition Asks Caribou-Targhee National Forest to Keep its Promise to protect habitat for grizzly bears and elk. GYC. In the mid 90s, the Targhee NF promised to close a number of no longer needed roads leading to old clear cuts on the flat, scenically boring, Madison Plateau (adjacent to YNP) to protect grizzly bear habitat.  They did take heavy machinery and close some, but they haven't enforced these closures, kept up the gates, or closed the many more roads they committed to. Once against the Forest Service will have to be sued to make them keep the legal commitments they made.

4-10-2004. Grizzly bear augmentation plan for the beleaguered Cabinet/Yaak population meets resistance. By Jim Mann. The Daily Inter Lake.

4-9-2004.  Bird feeders and trash bins are proving more deadly to grizzly bears in Greater Yellowstone area than conflicts with cattle ranchers. Casper Star Tribune. The New West is proving more deadly to grizzlies than the remnant of the Old West.

4-9-2004. Montana grizzlies are ready to "rise and dine." Great Falls Tribune. By Michael Babcock.

4-2-2004. The Changing Face of Bear Management in Montana. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

4-2-2004. Grizzly Bear 144 ["Cathy"] healed, normal and reclusive. Great Falls Tribune. Readers may remember the long saga of over a year ago who this mother was shot by a deer hunter and she, wounded, and her 3 cubs wandered the Rocky Mountain Front most of the winter, refusing or unable to den.

4-1-2004. Alberta grizzly hunt 'reckless'. Killing of bears approved against experts' advice. By Dawn Walton. The Globe and Mail. Alberta's grizzly bear is becoming increasing controversial as Alberta's once vast grizzly numbers sink to fewer than Montana.

3-31-2004 . Controversial grizzly bear food storage order goes into effect in the southern reaches of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Rocky Mountain News. By Sam Cooke. AP. I still think if they want civil disobedience, they should go right ahead -- smear themselves with honey and leave the remains of a sausage picnic while they have a slumber party at Union Pass.
4-1-2004. Bear proofing: New forest rules fuel box business. By Allison Batborff. Billings Gazette Wyoming Bureau.

3-30-2004. Hutterite's fine for grizzly killings may support conservation efforts. By Grady Semmens. Calgary Herald.

3-27-2004. Feds alter grizzly habitat plan. By Sherry Devlin. Missoulian. After the Forest Service's decision on the Lost Johnny Creek snowmobile bridge, I think we can tell how the "case by case" basin on roads, trails and grizzlies is going to work out . . . always for keeping roads and trails open to vehicles.
earlier 2-14-2004. Agency OKs Kootenai road plans in grizzly management areas. By Jim Mann
Kalispell Daily Inter Lake. This is a politically driven plan for  Kootenai, Idaho Panhandle and Lolo National forests. Don't forget these 2 isolated grizzly bear populations together only have about 80 grizzlies and that includes much of southeastern B.C. as well. B.C. elected an horrible government in 2001.

3-25-2005. It took a lawsuit to block a bridge for grizzlies. by Jeff Woods. Missoula Independent.
3-16-2004. Great news for grizzlies and wild backcountry! Lost Johnny snowmobile bridge was closed on March 15. News release. A judge has ordered the Forest Service to close this illegal bridge. Meanwhile, the Forest Service just gets worse and worse protecting grizzlies in the area from late season snowmobilers.
3-12-2004. Forest service backs off snowmobile bridge. By Jim Mann. Kalispell Daily Inter Lake

3-19-2004. Montana wildlife officials may transplant some grizzlies from Glacier NP to the Cabinet/Yaak ecosystem to halt the death spiral of this isolated population. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian. I think this is a very good idea. Still, it is a band aide unless abandoned logging roads are closed in the area.

3-18-2004. Bears in the back yard. By Geoffrey O'Gara and Dan Whipple. Column in the Casper Star Tribune. More on the expansion of grizzly bears southward in Wyoming. They are expanding south because that's where the habitat is. On the north are plains and an interstate highway. On the west in Idaho, the Targhee National Forest destroyed the wildlife habitat. On the east are more plains.

3-16-2004. Reminder on the emergence of grizzly bears in Yellowstone. Yellowstone Park news release.

3-14-2004. Grizzly populations spread south in the Greater Yellowstone. By Joan Haines. Bozeman Chronicle. Some great news!!

2-8-2004. Flathead National Forest apparently backs off on their legally binding promise to close unneeded logging roads to protect grizzlies and other wildlife. By Jim Mann. The Daily Inter- Lake. And the Forest Service wonders why they get sued! This is a national forest that needs a slap they won't soon forget.

2-8-2004. Defenders of Wildlife grizzly bear compensation payments increase in 2003. Montana Forum. Nevertheless, the payments were only a mere 17,219 dollars.

2-7-2004. Burlington Northern applies for "incidental take" permit for grizzlies it regularly kills on railroad adjacent to Glacier National Park. AP. Billings Gazette.

2-5-2004. Case of Alberta man charged with poisoning grizzlies with strychnine goes to court. Edmonton.cbc.ca.

2-4-2004. Albertans Call on Premier to Reverse Decision to Continue Grizzly Hunt. 500 phone calls for 500 remaining bears needed, groups say. From Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Calgary/Banff Chapter. Alberta has fewer grizzly bears than the Greater Yellowstone, but provincial government seems to hardly care. Oil and gas are king in Alberta.

1-23-2004. Poll backs grizzly recovery: Officials surprised, heartened by rural residents' opinions. Ericka Pizzillo. The Bellingham Herald.

1-20-2004. Europe bans B.C. grizzly- bear imports. By Keith Fraser. The Province.

1-10-2004. Montana FWP believes grizzly injured in 2002 hunt has hibernated on her own this winter. By Sonja Lee. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer. Grizzly 144,"Kathy," got nationwide coverage in Nov. through Feb. 2002-3 after she charged a Missoula hunter and survived a rifle shot to her head. She wandered the Rocky Mountain Front for months with her 3 cubs and not hibernate until captured and forced into hibernation.

1-9-2004. Regional foresters defend grizzly bear food-storage order for a larger area. Casper Star Tribune.

1-8-2004. Highway 93 project in Bitterroot Valley includes critter crossing. By Sherry Devlin. The Missoulian. Wyoming Dept. of Transportation should follow Montana's lead instead of just building high speed highways through bear and other wildlife habitat near Yellowstone.

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