As the Interagency Grizzly Bear Research Study in the Greater Yellowstone region continues, it is now revealed that a key Fall fattening up food, the Whitebark Pine Cone Seeds are down an astounding 84% compared to last year..............As most blog readers know, the Whitebark Pine is under siege due to elevated temperatures encouraging blister wilt and other pathogens attacking the trees...............Along with the reduction of Cutthroat Trout due to competition with non-native trout, Grizzlies are seeing two historically critical foodstuffs go down the drain with the result being that it puts greater demands on the Bruins to find enough alternative protein and carb-rich foods to get them through the winter in tip top shape............Will the loss of these food staples lead to increased Bear/Man conflicts as the Bears wander far and wide to find food? .................What will the impact be to the Bears reproduction success as underweight female Bears have less success birthing and weaning cubs when underweight?

Cone production among northwest  Wyoming's whitebark pines is down  84 percent this year. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Low pinecone output means grizzly conflict more likely

The Associated Press;dailyranger.com

JACKSON -- Biologists say a bad year for whitebark pine cone output could lead to more hunter-grizzly bear conflicts in northwest Wyoming this fall.

Officials say whitebark pine cone output has fallen off by 84 percent this year. The pine cones are an important food source for grizzlies before the winter.

Wildlife biologist Frank van Manen said the average cone count per tree dropped from 33 cones last year to just 5.2 cones per tree this year across the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

Because whitebarks grow at high elevations, they help keep grizzly bears separate from hunters in lower elevations.

But with the low crop, wildlife managers say there will be increased grizzly activity in the lowlands this year.

Whitebark pine has been identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a candidate for endangered species status. The agency says threats to the tree include habitat loss, pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle, catastrophic fire and fire suppression, environmental effects resulting from climate change, and "the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms.