This post isn’t funny, but it’s important. It describes a way that you can influence the conservation of the grizzly bear in Montana, more specifically the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. These magnificent animals are one-of a-kind and both hunters and conservationists want to maintain a healthy population throughout the West. Both groups believe the time has come to remove them from their protected status.
Current Numbers
The US has a population of about 1800 grizzly bears, about a third of which live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Although that may not sound like a large number, The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the State of Montana have determined that the population is robust enough to offer limited hunting of the species and in July of 2017 delisted the grizzly bear as an endangered species.
The Anti-Problem
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has sued to reverse this decision in a Washington DC court and comments are being accepted until January 8th that may affect the outcome. In case you don’t know, HSUS is adamantly opposed to all hunting and routinely challenges every management case involving hunting. If they had their way, they would make hunting illegal, in every form, because they see it as animal cruelty.
Why Hunt Grizzlies?
If you read the information associated with this post, you will see that the bear population has remained stable and offering limited hunting will not significantly reduce its numbers. Should you be fortunate enough to hunt in the Yellowstone region, you will deal head-on with the reality of grizzly country. Because they are not hunted, these huge bears have no fear of man. Many Montana residents won’t, hunt, hike, or fish in grizzly areas because the risk of an encounter is so high. Additionally, hunting regulations will target large bores who routinely kill young cubs (a process called infanticide) which may make the harvest population-neutral.
Read the Facts
If you care about hunting and its role in conservation, take a few minutes and read this brief and respond with your opinion. Be assured that the animal-rights groups are fanning the flames to assure a hunt never takes place. Read the facts, make a reply, and take a stand.
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are seeking public comment on a recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, Humane Society of the United States, et al. v. Zinke et al., 865 F.3d 585 (D.C. Cir. 2017), that may impact our June 30, 2017, final rule delisting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear Distinct Population Segment (DPS). In Humane Society of the United States, et al. v. Zinke et al., the court opined that the Service had not evaluated the status of the remainder of the listed entity of wolves in light of the Western Great Lakes (WGL) wolf DPS delisting action and what the effect of lost historical range may have on the status of the WGL wolf DPS. We also describe in this notice our strategy to recover grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the lower 48 States of the United States and provide a brief recovery update for each ecosystem.
https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FWS-R6-ES-2017-0089-0001
