What’s in store for grizzlies in the lower 48? After more than 30 years of protection under the Endangered Species Act, there are an estimated 1600-1700 grizzly bears south of the Canadian border. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other land and wildlife management agencies have made significant progress restoring grizzly bears to a portion of their historic range. But much remains to be accomplished to assure our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy and appreciate this noble symbol of America’s natural heritage.

Map of grizzly bear recovery areas, courtesy of USFWS.

Currently, the majority of grizzly bears can be found in just two major ecosystems with the rest scattered across much smaller subpopulations. Here’s a quick breakdown of all grizzly bear populations found in the lower 48:

• The 9,600-square mile Northern Continental Divide ecosystem (NCDE) in Montana includes Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and is home to an estimated 900-1,000 grizzly bears. This population is relatively stable and has continued to increase slightly each year.
• The 9,200-square mile greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE) includes Yellowstone National Park and an estimated 600 to 700 grizzly bears. This population appears to have stabilized at current levels.
• The 2,200-square mile Selkirk ecosystem in northeastern Washington, northern Idaho and southern Canada has fewer than 100 grizzly bears with a slight increase each year.
• The 2,600-square mile Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem in northwestern Montana and northern Idaho has fewer than 50 grizzly bears. This population continues to decline slightly each year, but the decline appears to be tapering off.
• The 9,500-square mile North Cascades ecosystem in Washington has fewer than 20 grizzly bears and very little is known about them. In order to recover this population, grizzly bears will likely need to be added to the area from other populations.
• The 5,600-square mile Bitterroot ecosystem that straddles western Montana and central Idaho is currently void of grizzly bears but has been identified as containing excellent bear habitat and is key to connecting the GYE and NCDE populations.

The long-term survival of any species depends on the number and size of individual sub-populations, survival rates of each and connectivity between populations – the larger and more connected, the better the bears can withstand natural disasters, disease or extreme food shortages. For example, the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem is currently  disconnected from the larger and more robust NCDE population. That’s why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state agencies are moving bears from the NCDE to the Cabinet-Yaak in an effort to save this population. This is desperately needed for the isolated North Cascades population as well, but politics has delayed grizzly bear augmentations here.

Securing quality habitat, improving human tolerance and minimizing conflicts between grizzly bears and people, particularly on private lands within or between identified recovery areas, will continue to be an ongoing challenge. But by working together, we can make sure that grizzly bears have safe passage to move across the landscape, thereby improving genetic diversity and boosting bear populations in more vulnerable ecosystems.

To that end, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released its draft Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy. The strategy is intended to guide the management of grizzly bears and habitat protections on public lands after federal Endangered Species Act protections are removed. Among other things, the strategy would create a Primary Conservation Area, three additional management zones, and two Demographic Connectivity Areas. This geographic arrangement is designed to maintain a stable core population while providing varying degrees of protection in key linkage areas to encourage bears to disperse.

The Service has also proposed revisions to the Greater Yellowstone Recovery Plan that may change future population estimates. The GYE is the most isolated population in the lower 48 and has been hovering close to federal recovery objectives for several years. It is critical that bears in this population are able to expand into secure habitats that will once again link them with the more genetically diverse NCDE population and/or other grizzly bear populations.

As we close out Bear Awareness Week, we would like to celebrate the significant efforts put into grizzly bear recovery. It was humans that drove bears from an estimated 50,000 animals to fewer than 1,000 bears over approximately 170 years. And it is humans that must bring them back. Grizzly bears are the second slowest reproducing land mammal in North America, so recovery will not happen overnight. However, multiple conservation groups, local communities and agencies are dedicating efforts to ensure a place for grizzly bears in the lower 48 states.

The future of grizzly bears remains uncertain, but as Abraham Lincoln said, “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” Together with our partners, we will continue to work one day at a time to minimize grizzly bear deaths and improve social tolerance through continued outreach and on-the-ground coexistence projects.

Help us run more ads like this one that ran in the Washington Post Express today.

Service delays national delisting…for now – We were all surprised and greatly relieved on Monday when the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was delaying indefinitely its premature national gray wolf delisting proposal (see our press statement). Hopefully, the delay means that the Obama administration is rethinking its position. Perhaps the 112,295 (and counting) email messages our wolf supporters have sent to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell haven’t fallen on deaf ears. Or maybe it was convincing letters from independent biologists, the American Society of Mammalogists and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent to agency officials in the past week that made the difference. Whatever it was, we need to keep the pressure up to ensure that this isn’t just a temporary reprieve. Wolves still need federal protection to recover in vast areas with excellent habitat, such as the Pacific Northwest, northern California and the southern Rockies. You can help us secure a brighter future for wolves by supporting our latest outreach efforts, including an advertising campaign that launched today in the Washington Post Express!

Meanwhile, our colleagues at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a lawsuit demanding information from 2010 meetings between state and federal agencies regarding wolf biology and management. Their efforts may help reveal the motivation behind the premature delisting of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies and shed light on current plans to abandon wolf recovery nationwide. As PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch said, “By law, Endangered Species Act decisions are supposed to be governed by the best available science, not the best available deal.” We couldn’t agree more, and Defenders Executive Vice President Don Barry emphasized that point on the air recently when he had the chance to discuss the importance of maintaining the integrity of the ESA and protections for gray wolves. Listen to his interview with KTVA near Los Angeles:

Bill sponsors and supporters join Gov. Inslee for the signing of critical wolf funding legislation in Washington.

Gov. Inslee signs wolf funding bill — Washington ranchers will soon have more resources at their disposal to help wolves and livestock coexist, thanks to the state legislature. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill this week that is expected to raise more than one million dollars for nonlethal wolf conservation management efforts and compensation for livestock producers.  Champions of the bill included Representatives Hans Dunshee and Kristine Lytton and Senators Kevin Ranker and Christine Rolfes.  Defenders regional wolf conservationist Suzanne Stone was present at signing and added, “This is a great example of the benefit of working collaboratively to tackle conflicts instead of just fighting over them.  This legislation is a win for wolves and for ranchers.” Thanks to all our colleagues and supporters in Washington and across the country who helped get this key piece of legislation passed and signed!

Oregon livestock losses highlight need for nonlethal deterrents – According to the latest update from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the state’s wolves have been getting into more trouble with livestock. Last week, OR-4 of the Imnaha pack was implicated in the death of a yearling cow, and at least one Umatilla wolf was involved with the death of four sheep. Overall livestock losses to wolves are still extremely low in Oregon, as well as across the rest of the West. But these incidents provide an important wake-up call for ranchers in the region who are turning their animals out on pasture this spring and summer. Using proactive strategies and nonlethal deterrents is essential to minimizing livestock losses in wolf country. Often all it takes is a few guard dogs, a range rider or portable fencing to ensure that livestock and wildlife can safely coexist. Such measures will be vitally important as wolves continue to expand into areas where they have been absent for nearly 80 years.

Discover wolves in North America – A new series called “North America” premiered on the Discovery Channel on Sunday, and of course wolves were featured prominently. Watch these incredible clips of wild wolves chasing bison and caribou, engaged in the perennial showdown between predator and prey:

In the spring of 2009, two grizzly bears named Rainy and Scarhip were seen frolicking through fields and across highways. Soon thereafter, both bears were captured near Seeley Lake, Montana and fitted with tracking collars. To have any chance of survival, Rainy and Scarhip would have to avoid a variety of temptations, including garbage cans, birdfeeders, and chicken coops – all containing delicious snacks for a hungry bear.

A grizzly bear roams into an apple orchard.

Needless to say, the outlook was not good, and Scarhip was getting into people’s yards almost immediately. But food attractants aren’t the only threat to grizzly bears, and in October of 2009, Scarhip was mistakenly shot and killed by a black hear hunter. Meanwhile, Rainy stayed out of trouble all summer long before heading to her den north of Lake Alva. The following spring she emerged with two cubs and spent the next few months in the Placid Lake area. Then, suddenly, on July 14th, she was documented near Seeley Lake again, feeding on garbage, grain, bird seed and dog food. Females with cubs need as many calories as they can find, and Rainy had hit the jackpot.

That was the beginning of the end for Rainy. Before long, she and her cubs were climbing onto porches, damaging buildings and approaching people. Due to escalating concerns for human safety, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks decided to trap all three bears. But it was too late — one of Rainy’s cubs was hit by a car crossing Highway 83. A month later, FWP trapped Rainy and her remaining cub and sent them to a zoo in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sadly, the cub died a year later from a rare fungal infection, while Rainy still remains at the zoo.

The saddest part of the story, however, is that the loss of these bears was almost entirely avoidable. Simple solutions like electric fencing are highly effective at securing attractants like bee yards, apple orchards, lambing pastures, chicken coops and compost piles. Other successful deterrents include bear-resistant garbage enclosures and using livestock guard dogs, range riders and alternative grazing methods.

Some of these tools can be expensive, but there are resources available to help residents protect their property and prevent conflict. For example, Defenders of Wildlife started a program in 2010 to help pay for smaller fencing projects. So far the program has secured 58 sites in Montana and helped save grizzly bears.

Electric fencing around bear attractants like chicken coops can make a big difference.

Take the Morris family, for instance. They’re a 4-H family from northwest Montana with pigs, goats, sheep and chickens. Last year, the Morrises routinely had grizzly bears on their property and had Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks on “speed dial.” They wanted to install a sturdy electric fence but didn’t think they could afford one. FWP directed the Morrises to our incentive program, which helped pay for installing the fence they wanted — a win-win solution for both bears and people. The Morrises finished their electric fence last October and are expecting local wildlife residents to be quite “shocked” when they come around this spring.

Since 1997, Defenders of Wildlife has also been compensating ranchers for livestock losses to grizzly bears. This year, Montana will take this program over through the state’s Livestock Loss Board. Though not a perfect solution, compensation programs help mitigate the financial impact on ranchers and their families. But compensation only addresses conflicts after the damage has already been done. It’s far better to find ways to prevent conflicts from occurring in the first place. And on the rare occasions when these tools aren’t enough, wildlife managers need the flexibility to relocate or remove grizzly bears that are deemed a serious threat to humans.

Aldo Leopold, the grandfather of wildlife conservation, once wrote, “Relegating grizzlies to Alaska is about like relegating happiness to heaven; one may never get there.”

By the late 1800s, this became a real fear. An estimated population of 50,000 grizzly bears plummeted to just a few hundred in less than one percent of their historic range. Fortunately, grizzly bears were protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1975 and have been making a strong comeback ever since. Today, there are approximately 1,700 grizzly bears in the lower 48. Most of us have welcomed these magnificent creatures back to our landscape. But it will take concerted efforts by all of us living in grizzly country to ensure continued recovery of the species. Ultimately, the fate of grizzly bears in Montana and across the West still rests in our hands.

I hope grizzlies are never relegated to Alaska nor happiness to heaven. And hopefully, by working together, we can ensure that our children and grandchildren can continue to find both right here in Montana.

To learn more about what you can do to coexist with grizzly bears, visit defenders.org/GotGrizzlies.

Originally published by Montana Public Radio

Wow – what an incredible couple of days! Last week over 30 Defenders’ citizen advocates flew to Washington, D.C. to ask Congress to speed the recovery of endangered wildlife, and to kick off our exciting new grassroots campaign “Conservation Crossroads: Extinction or Recovery?” And what a kick off it was!

Two supporters from Colorado arrive on Capital Hill.

Advocates from across the country, from California and Montana to Florida and New York, arrived at Defenders’ headquarters for a day of lobby training and a legislative briefing by our talented Government Relations team. The room was buzzing as folks swapped advice, shared information, and related to one another why they made the trip to D.C. It was clear that each participant had a unique background and story to tell their elected leaders about the importance of recovering endangered wildlife.

We had members of the military, including a retired Marine Corps Lt. General, a Marine veteran, and an active duty CA Air National Guardsman, who talked about protecting endangered species on military bases, emphasizing that defending our way of life includes wildlife. We had two priests from Arizona and New Mexico and a wildlife enthusiast who started an environmental lecture series in her church speak about the need to be good stewards of God’s planet. And we had educators, wildlife photographers, writers, and health care professionals – folks who could be our neighbors – speak about why protecting and recovering endangered wildlife is a value shared by all Americans, regardless of political party.

Equipped with printed materials and important conservation messages, we headed to Capitol Hill to ask our elected officials for two things: 1) to provide increased funding for key wildlife management agencies to accelerate the recovery of endangered species, and 2) to vote against any attempts to weaken the Endangered Species Act, a law that has seen a 99% success rate in preventing extinctions.

We met with legislators of both parties to educate and encourage them to support wildlife recovery, especially those freshmen who were just recently elected six months ago. While some of our meetings were to thank our greatest champions for wildlife recovery, such as Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Representative Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), we also met with legislators who do not always vote consistently on behalf of endangered wildlife. Those meetings are especially important, and having constituents speak directly to their members of Congress and key staff members makes a profound impact. Legislators take their direction on what issues to focus on and how to vote from constituent input – especially when the constituent has flown across the country for the meeting! And while face-to-face meetings are the most direct way to share the pulse of the district with members of Congress, there are many ways to let your voice be heard.

Ambassador wolf Atka was our guest of honor at the Hill reception.

Once our marathon day of 70+ meetings was over, our weary but empowered group of citizen advocates gathered with volunteers, congressional staff, and other guests to recap the day and celebrate 40 years of the Endangered Species Act. We were joined by some long-time friends of wildlife: Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Jim Moran (D-VA), Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and one of the original authors of the Endangered Species Act and Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives Rep. John Dingell (D-MI). Each of them spoke to the crowd about the tremendous successes the Endangered Species Act has spurred, and the importance of protecting it against legislative attempts to undermine it. Hopefully the rest of Congress will heed their call!

After inspiring words from these notable legislators, the reception moved outside to greet our guest of honor: Atka, the ambassador Arctic wolf from the Wolf Conservation Center (WCC) in New York! Joined by Maggie Howell and Rebecca Bose of the WCC, we learned all about arctic wolves, how they survive in such harsh conditions, and why Atka was so excited to roll in perfume sprayed on the grass (so he can share the smell with his pack back home and cloak his scent from prey!). We tried our best to make Atka howl, but I think he was more interested in lounging in the sun. Many thanks to the men and women of the Capitol Police Department and Sergeant-at-Arms office for making Atka’s visit possible!

Although this Congressional lobby day is over, the campaign is just beginning. In the coming weeks and months, we will need as many concerned citizens as possible to help support the recovery of endangered species. If you’re interested in joining our stellar team of citizen advocates at home or during our next Capitol Hill grassroots lobby day take a minute to sign up and join our campaign today and become part of our growing team. There are many ways to get involved at home or in DC: letters to the editor, meetings with your elected leaders in your district, writing and calling Congress, and many more. I hope we’ll hear from you soon!

Lobby Training

Before we went to the Hill, our Government Relations team sat down with volunteers for a day of lobby training.

Lobby Training

Lobby Training

Two supporters from Colorado arrive on Capitol Hill.

Two supporters from Colorado arrive on Capitol Hill.

Our Delegation of Volunteers from California

Senator Bennet from Colorado Talks to our Volunteers on Capitol Hill

Brad Orsted meets with Senator Tester from Montana

The Florida Delegation

Brian Call, Paul Shannon and Tara Thornton meet with Rep. Ros-lehtinen from Florida

Getting Down to Business

Colorado volunteer Alicia Miers and Defenders' Outreach Representative Caitlin Balch-Burnett

Brian Call Meets With Rep. Radel from Florida

The Colorado Delegation

Kathie Broyles, Alicia Miers and Caitlin Balch-Burnett meet with Congressman Polis of Colorado

Volunteer Janet Hoben Meets With Rep. Adam Schiff from California

The Florida Delegation Meets With Rep. Radel

The Guest of Honor

Ambassador wolf Atka from the Wolf Conservation Center in New York

Atka meets Rep. Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania

Atka meets Senator Stabenow from Michigan

How do we help advance solar and wind energy projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also protecting sensitive wildlife and their habitat?

As wind development grows in places like Oregon and Idaho, coordinated landscape-scale planning for both renewable energy and conservation can help us find the best places to build wind farms while protecting and improving habitat for pronghorn and other wildlife. (©Larry Andreasen)

We know that traditional energy sources like oil, gas and coal pose great risks to wildlife, be it from oil spills, habitat destruction or the release of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. But what about renewable energy, like solar and wind?

These are an essential part of reducing the pollution that comes from our energy use. But their size and how they function can have a huge impact on wildlife and their habitat. So, how can we develop these renewable energy resources without sacrificing wildlife?

The answer, as the saying goes, is “location, location, location.”

Traditionally, energy developers and land managers have picked project sites by focusing on the available energy resource; thinking about how those projects might affect natural resources and wildlife was an afterthought. But this way of doing business inevitably leads to delays, uncertainty, and conflict when developers discover after the fact that sensitive, threatened, or endangered wildlife may be on the site.

That’s where we come in.

Planning ahead for solar energy development in the desert Southwest can allow us to develop solar projects in the right places while protecting essential habitat for the Desert tortoise. (©Beth Jackson/FWS)

Defenders and our partners are working to change this paradigm in ways that reduce the potential for conflicts with wildlife while still permitting responsible renewable energy development to go ahead in the right places.

It starts with a landscape-scale analysis of energy potential and wildlife conservation priorities using many of the mapping tools and technologies currently available from state and federal wildlife agencies and non-profit conservation organizations. This allows energy developers to identify areas of potential energy-wildlife conflict and avoid them.

Next, developers can attempt to minimize wildlife impacts by adjusting the project’s scope or the way in which the project will be operated (e.g., installing radar to detect when birds are migrating through an area and shutting down wind turbines to reduce the likelihood of collisions).

Finally, when facing unavoidable impacts, developers can offset them by purchasing or restoring habitat or contributing funds to a “mitigation bank” from which proceeds can be used to protect other lands that will benefit the wildlife and habitats impacted by the project. The idea is to ensure that lands and habitat acquired or restored will make up for the lands lost or disturbed by the energy project.

Combined, these mechanisms for dealing with the potential risks posed by a project are referred to as the “mitigation framework.” And, they are the means by which we can produce renewable energy without sacrificing sensitive lands and wildlife in return.

Defenders is developing and promoting this approach on many fronts. Last June, Defenders and our partners hosted a workshop on mitigation policy in Washington, DC. Leaders from the conservation community, energy industries, and state and federal agencies gathered to discuss the latest techniques and tools in mitigation and how to continue to improve their use. We followed that up this spring with another workshop at the annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources conference in Arlington, VA, where Defenders and others led a series of panels and presentations on landscape-level planning and mitigation.

Panoramic view of the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone in southern Nevada’s Mojave Desert. (©BLM)

In between these two conferences, we have been working on using the mitigation framework to improve the planning and placement of individual solar and wind projects, and we participated in a series of groundbreaking workshops led by the Bureau of Land Management to define the first Region-wide Mitigation Plan for one of the solar energy zones identified by the Department of the Interior in their western solar plan. We helped Argonne National Laboratory develop a new data mapping tool for understanding and reducing wildlife conflict in transmission line planning, worked with the Arizona BLM on its first-of-a-kind Restoration Design Energy Program to identify and avoid places of high conflict across the landscape, and we continue to participate in the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan process in California.

As our country further embraces renewable energy, the question of how it affects wildlife and habitat will continue to be key, and Defenders is committed to promoting a landscape-scale approach to planning for energy and wildlife conservation in key areas. Remember: “location, location, location…” By using existing science and mapping technologies, we can work with the solar and wind energy industries to help them build better projects – better for wildlife and better for them because reducing conflicts with wildlife increases the likelihood that projects get built in less time and at lower cost. That, in turn, means that more clean energy is available to meet our nation’s energy needs and less dirty energy is needed. And that will benefit us all, particularly sensitive wildlife already threatened by a warming planet and increasing habitat loss.

My first bear encounter

In the late ‘90s, I was working in Yellowstone National Park as a waitress, a city girl inexperienced about wilderness. Wildlife, in my mind, consisted only of the opossums, deer, raccoons and squirrels that had frequented my neighborhood in Missouri. Little did I know, my summer job would forever change my conception of wildlife – and my entire life.

A family moment. (Photo Credit: Stephen Oachs)

One sunny day I set out on a hike with friends into Hayden Valley. The grass was as tall as me, gold and thick, and bison grazed in every direction. Suddenly, we noticed a grizzly bear off in the distance. My instinct was to run in the opposite direction, and I actually did briefly until a friend asked where I was going. Sheepishly, I stopped. We took out our binoculars and the grizzly stood up, her coat gleaming in the afternoon sun. Then, the small brown head of bear cub popped out of the grass. Finally, a third grizzly bear emerged, slightly larger than the little cub. Three grizzlies! At once, all three bears dropped into the tall grass and disappeared.

Media headlines were racing though my head: “Female grizzly attacks hikers to defend her cubs!” I was horrified and certain that she was going to pop up right in front of us—a mad, mama bear—but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Soon, she reappeared farther off, near a wet, muddy hole. She lay down on her back watching the other two roll in the mud.

In that exact moment I was forever changed. All the information I had received about bears through movies, TV and news articles was inaccurate and sensational. This was beyond a doubt, what we humans like to call a “family moment.” The cubs were playing while mom soaked up some sunshine. I knew I had to better educate myself about bears and that I needed to share what I learned.

Helping people and grizzlies coexist

This moment comes to mind every spring when bears emerge from hibernation and we start gearing up for our summer field season. For the past 10 years, I’ve been working to promote tolerance and find ways for humans and grizzlies to coexist. My job is to make sure that people are doing their part to secure attractants so that bears can keep themselves out of trouble and continue to thrive on the landscape.

Me and Russ doing grizzly bear outreach in Missoula, Mont.

My colleague Russ Talmo and I got started early this year by participating in several workshops and outreach events. This included talking about raising chickens in bear country at two Montana Pastured Poultry Workshops hosted by the National Center for Appropriate Technology in cooperation with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. We also set up remote cameras at a lambing pasture on the Rocky Mountain Front and, while we didn’t catch any bears, we do have footage of a coyote, a skunk, raccoons and lots of sheep.

Right now grizzlies are out of their dens looking for food such as glacier lilies, spring grasses  and deer and elk that have died over the winter. But anthropogenic attractants like garbage, birdfeeders, livestock, bees and chickens can quickly lure a winter-starved grizzly. To help keep bears away from these potential food sources, Defenders started an Electric Fencing Incentive program three years ago that reimburses residents 50% of the cost of an electric fence around a bear attractant. Between 2010 and 2012 we completed 58 fences. This year our goal is to complete another 50 fencing projects, and we are well on our way with over 25 people signed up already to participate.  Additionally, we are working with livestock producers on larger electric fence projects, range rider programs and helping to purchase livestock guard dogs.

I’ll keep you posted as our field season gets under way. We have lots of coexistence projects to complete and lots of great stories to share from our partners, so stay tuned!