Yellowstone grizzly hunts to replace conservation effor
The Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Committee has done an about face and launched a public relations program to promote legal grizzly bear hunts instead of trying to reduce grizzly bear mortality.
In 2008, the Yellowstone grizzly population was 596 bears, but when 48 grizzlies were killed, the grizzly committee drafted 31 recommendations to reduce bear mortality. (Yellowstone Mortality and Conflicts Reduction Report, June 5, 2009)
By 2010, the committee had whittled the list down to 11 priority recommendations. These recommendations were on the agenda for an October 27-8 meeting of the Yellowstone grizzly committee in Bozeman. By coincidence, the 48th grizzly of the year was killed just before the committee met.Evidently, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen did not want the media and the public to focus on high bear mortality. Or the fact his Yellowstone grizzly bear committee's recommendations to reduce grizzly bear mortality had either not been put into effect, or were not working.
Servheen's Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Committee announced that the Yellowstone area grizzly population had hit an all-time high of 603 bears, and it was time for legal grizzly bear hunts.
So, 596 grizzlies and 48 bear deaths necessitates a mortality reduction plan, but 603 grizzlies and 48 deaths triggers a call for grizzly bear hunts.
Once hunting begins, the grizzly population is likely to drop. Wyoming Game and Fish Department bear specialist Mark Bruscino told the Cody Enterprise, "The goal is to maintain more than 500 grizzlies."
Bruscino told the November 6, 2010 LA Times, "Right now there's no value on bears. If people are allowed to compete for a limited number of hunting licenses, people will start to ascribe more value to bears."
Today, grizzly hunts are illegal because the bears are classified as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. But a court case is pending that would remove grizzlies from the list. A decision is expected in 2012
In 2008, the Yellowstone grizzly population was 596 bears, but when 48 grizzlies were killed, the grizzly committee drafted 31 recommendations to reduce bear mortality. (Yellowstone Mortality and Conflicts Reduction Report, June 5, 2009)
By 2010, the committee had whittled the list down to 11 priority recommendations. These recommendations were on the agenda for an October 27-8 meeting of the Yellowstone grizzly committee in Bozeman. By coincidence, the 48th grizzly of the year was killed just before the committee met.Evidently, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen did not want the media and the public to focus on high bear mortality. Or the fact his Yellowstone grizzly bear committee's recommendations to reduce grizzly bear mortality had either not been put into effect, or were not working.
Servheen's Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Committee announced that the Yellowstone area grizzly population had hit an all-time high of 603 bears, and it was time for legal grizzly bear hunts.
So, 596 grizzlies and 48 bear deaths necessitates a mortality reduction plan, but 603 grizzlies and 48 deaths triggers a call for grizzly bear hunts.
Once hunting begins, the grizzly population is likely to drop. Wyoming Game and Fish Department bear specialist Mark Bruscino told the Cody Enterprise, "The goal is to maintain more than 500 grizzlies."
Bruscino told the November 6, 2010 LA Times, "Right now there's no value on bears. If people are allowed to compete for a limited number of hunting licenses, people will start to ascribe more value to bears."
Today, grizzly hunts are illegal because the bears are classified as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. But a court case is pending that would remove grizzlies from the list. A decision is expected in 2012
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment