Connecting The Dots
Restoring The Great Bear

Why Care About Bears?
When Lewis and Clark explored the West nearly 200 years ago, more than 100,000 grizzlies roamed America between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. Now only 1,000 bears remain in the Yellowstone area and four other, isolated pockets of wild high country in the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest. And civilization—in the form of sprawling development, oil and gas drilling, logging and road building, and off road vehicles—is closing in fast on the few last fragments of bear habitat. In fact, since being listed as a threatened species 28 years ago, the threats to the grizzly bear have intensified—and so has the need to protect them. The grizzly is:

• One of the last vestiges of America`s "wild" west
• An icon of Yellowstone, the nation`s oldest national park
• Solitary and fiercely independent, embodying nature beyond the control of man
• An animal more sensitive to development than any other Northern Rockies species, and thus a barometer of the health of the whole ecosystem.
• Vulnerable to extinction due to the size and isolation of remaining populations, and development of wildland habitat.

Bear Troubles
In less than 200 years, grizzly bears were reduced to 1% of their former numbers in 1-2% of their former range in the lower-48 states, receiving protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1975. Experts concur that, but for these protections, the grizzly would have disappeared from the lower-48 states. While bear numbers have increased slightly since the 1980`s, they are not significantly different than when the grizzly was listed. Of particular concern today are:

• Loss of wild habitat from energy development, rural sprawl and subdivision, and recreation use, causing further isolation of remaining island populations.
• Unnecessary conflicts with homeowners, sportsman and recreationists who habituate bears to garbage and other human attractants.
• Threats to key Yellowstone food sources, such as whitebark pine seeds, as a result of introduced diseases and climate change.
  
  

In addition, the government will soon propose delisting, or removal from ESA protections, which could occur in 2004-2005 in Yellowstone, and several years later in Glacier. This would exacerbate current problems of increasing isolation of grizzly ecosystems, and habitat loss within the region.

NRDC maintains that delisting is premature until the bear`s range has been expanded to support roughly 2000-3000 animals, and ecological bridges between ecosystems have been maintained and restored.

"Relegating grizzlies to Alaska is like relegating happiness to heaven; one may never get there." Aldo Leopold

Connecting the Dots, Restoring the Great Bear
There is still room for hope to recover the threatened grizzly. Experts concur that the grizzlies can be recovered by significantly expanding their range, and by strengthening the ecological bridges between remaining populations. They also agree that the clock is ticking, and that steps must be taken in the next decade or two—or that opportunities for grizzly recovery will be lost.

The maps below show that grizzlies can be reconnected between Yellowstone and adjacent Canadian grizzly populations, if:

• Grizzlies are restored to Idaho`s Selway/Bitterroot ecosystem, which could harbor 400-600 bears.
• Efforts are redoubled to protect open space and wild country connecting grizzly ecosystems.
• People who live in or recreate in these lands know about how to avoid problems with bears, and support their recovery.

"There is still hope, but now is the time to act. We all need to play a role and do our part to help the Great Bear recovery and ensure its survival." John Banovich

NRDC`s "Connecting the Dots, Restoring the Great Bear" Campaign seeks to:

• Change current policies that relegate the grizzly to roughly 1,000 animals in fragmented habitats;
• Develop priorities about how and where to reconnect populations in the United States and Canada, using the best available science;
• Pursue protection of these ecological connections on public lands and in communities, cooperating with private landowners and businesses, where economies are increasingly based on wildlife viewing and recreation.
• Improve public awareness about how citizens can help recover the threatened grizzly through sound stewardship practices in bear country.

You Can Help Ensure a Healthy Future for the Grizzly The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national non-profit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 500,000 members nationwide and offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Visit NRDC at our web site: http://www.nrdc.org.

Thank You The NRDC and John Banovich extend a special thank you to those who have supported, and who continue to support, Connecting The Dots - Restoring the Great Bear.