Are Grizzly Bears Recovered?

What comes to mind when you think of wilderness?  For me, it is the grizzly, the epitome of the west and all that is wild.  Once ranging in great numbers throughout the mountains and the Great Plains, grizzlies have been reduced to less than 2% of their historic range in the lower 48.  Fewer than 1,500 now remain in five distinct populations.

Since being listed as a threatened species in the lower 48 under the Endangered Species Act in 1975, grizzlies have made great strides towards recovery.  Numbers have nearly tripled to over 600 in the Greater Yellowstone Area in the past three decades.  The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzly population has increased to over 800, where 48% of the bears now call Glacier National Park home.  Grizzlies have also begun to move back to their historic range on the plains.  However, this iconic animal is not out of the woods just yet.

If you have been following the news in the west, you have probably noticed the rise in human/bear conflicts in recent years.  Human-caused mortality is one of the biggest threats to grizzly bear survival in the lower 48.  As with all wild things, grizzlies need room to roam – and a lot of it.  With human population growing steadily in the west, habitat is declining.  While more and more people are making efforts to reduce these conflicts, there is still a long way to go.

The recent success in grizzly bear recovery has brought to the table an important –and familiar – question.  Are grizzlies ready to be delisted – removed from the protection of the Endangered Species Act – in areas where they are doing well?  For any species, the answer is not just about numbers of animals, but also about whether adequate protections are in place to ensure they won’t need to be put back on the Endangered Species List in the future. An article in the Missoula Independent provided some much needed insight on this debate, including some great quotes from our Northern Rockies Representative, Jonathan Proctor:

Grizzlies are “a success story in the making right now,” says Jonathan Proctor, Rocky Mountain Region representative for the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife. “The population is expanding, protections are working, more and more people who live around the NCDE area are taking great steps to coexist with grizzlies…Everyone wants the grizzlies to recover to the point where delisting can occur. Obviously we do. The question is, is it at that point or not?”

Read the article and check out our grizzly page for more information.