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On The Prowl: Will the Grizzly Return?

© Connie Troutman

If President Bush and Interior Secretary Gale Norton have anything to say, the answer will be no.
On Wednesday April 25, The Washington Post reported that Interior Secretary Gale Norton intends to set aside a Clinton plan to reintroduce grizzly bears into the Idaho and Montana wilderness.

Although Norton is committed to increase the number of grizzlies in the lower 48 states, she is concerned about plans to bring the bear to the Bitterroot Mountains of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.

With only about 1200 Grizzlies remaining today, last November the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services announced the reintroduction plan for the Bitterroot ecosystem of central Idaho and Western Montana. The plan involves releasing 5 bears per year for a period of 5 years starting in 2002.

Management of the bears will be composed of citizens, members of the Nez Perce tribe and goverment agencies. The involvement of local residents is crucial to a successful reintroduction effort, said Ralph Morgenweck of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will oversee the program along with state officials. A coalition of environmental groups, including the National Wildlife Federation, praised the government's citizen advisory group approach. It said the plan offers the best chance to recover and conserve grizzly bears while also protecting the culture and livelihood of people and communities in the region.

Gov Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho filed a suit against the plan 2 days before Bush took office. He claims the Clinton Administration was forcing "massive, flesh-eating carnivores into Idaho".

Between 1800 and 1975, grizzly populations decreased from more than 50,000 to less than 1000. The recovery of the grizzly bear has had some success and the success needs to continue or future generations will only have words to read.

The Bush administration's reported intent to scuttle a precedent setting plan, based on local citizen management to restore grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies wilderness raises the most troubling questions to date about its commitment to putting environmental lawas and common sense above ideology and partisan politics, according to the National Wildlife Federation, a primary architect of the grizzly plan.
"If the administration doesn't like this approach to conservation, it's hard to imagine anything they will like," said National Wildlife Federation President Mark Van Putten. "Interior Secretary Gale Norton says she wants to foster collaboration with local citizens. That is precisely what citizen management will accomplish." (Source: National Wildlife Federation)

Visit the National Wildlife Federation and help to save the Grizzly reintroduction.

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