After decades of searching, federal biologists
haven’t found a single grizzly bear in Montana and Idaho’s
Bitterroot/Selway ecosystem. But the Missoula-based Alliance for
the Wild Rockies and seven other local environmental organizations
say there may be a remnant population – one that people have
overlooked. The groups recently launched a “Great Grizzly Search.”
It involves distributing a booklet in which forest-goers can record
specifics about bear sightings. Mike Bader of Alliance for the Wild
Rockies says he hopes collecting more information about bear
tracks, scat and physical characteristics will help
environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pin down
whether grizzlies still roam the Bitterroot. Johanna Roy, a federal
grizzly biologist, says her agency welcomes the extra help in
looking for the bear, but she cautions that it will take more than
just casual sightings to prove grizzlies exist. Grizzly bears have
been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since
1975, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to reintroduce
an “experimental/non-essential” population to aid the great bruin’s
recovery. An experimental designation means the bears won’t have
full protection under the ESA, however, and it’s legal only if no
native grizzlies remain.
For copies of the
Search’s pocket-sized booklet and observation cards, write Great
Grizzly Search, P.O. Box 8983, Missoula, MT 59807, or call Alliance
for the Wild Rockies at 406/721-5420. USFWS also has a sighting
form available, along with more extensive information on how to
distinguish grizzlies from black bears. The agency’s Grizzly Bear
Sighting Form for the Bitterroot is available from Grizzly Bear
Recovery Office, University Hall, Room 309, University of Montana,
Missoula, MT 59812, or call Johanna Roy at 208/476-3435.
*Ali Macalady
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Barely there.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
