ACT NOW! Click here to learn more about grizzlies in peril and to take action.
	Louisa Willcox. Photo © Suzie Hollingsworth

Why do grizzly bears matter? Why should Americans care about them?
Grizzly bears are icons of the wild high country of the American West. When Lewis and Clark explored the West, grizzlies roamed from the Great Plains to California and from Alaska to Mexico. Today, however, the grizzly population in the lower 48 states is about 1 percent of estimated pre-colonial levels, and the few bears that remain are concentrated in shrinking pockets of the northern Rockies and North Cascades.

Any American who cares about this nation's history has a stake in conserving grizzly bears and their mountain habitat. Healthy bear populations mean that the land is healthy, and our children and grandchildren deserve the chance to experience for themselves these wild landscapes and their animals.

What are you working on these days?
My number-one priority right now is to prevent the "de-listing" of Yellowstone's grizzly bears from the Endangered Species Act -- the removal of protections this bear population has received since being listed under the ESA in 1975. These protections saved Yellowstone's grizzlies from sure extinction and the progress made toward recovery of the Yellowstone grizzly population over the last 30 years is one of the great success stories of the ESA. But the story isn't finished -- these bears are just not ready to come off the list.

Why shouldn't Yellowstone's grizzlies be de-listed?
These bears are still in trouble. To nail down the population's recovery, there should be 2,000 to 3,000 bears living in connected ecosystems. Today there are only 500. De-listing bears will loosen restrictions on development and resource exploitation in their habitat, further shrinking the territory in which they can safely roam. Less land means fewer grizzlies. And if Yellowstone's grizzlies die out, it would be like Old Faithful running dry.

(ed. note: click here for more information on the government's ill-advised plan to de-list Yellowstone's grizzlies)

What other work are you doing to protect bears?
I am working to redefine long-term recovery for grizzlies in the Rocky Mountains, which scientists say involves connecting Yellowstone bears to larger source populations in Canada. I also team up with NRDC colleagues and others in the conservation community to protect and link important habitat. Another part of my job entails education to head off preventable accidents. It's really true that "a fed bear is a dead bear." They're so smart that they never forget where they got a taste of a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. Often, when they return to the same spot again and again in search of food, they're eventually killed. So I help educate people about bear-proofing dumpsters and try to initiate efforts to improve garbage management and resolve conflicts.

An adult grizzly bear Photo © Patrick Endres/ AlaskaStock.com

What's your approach to saving bears?
My approach integrates a number of disciplines and perspectives, and involves a broad range of people, including scientists, lawyers, conservationists, businesspeople, citizens and agency managers. I provide background information and updates to dozens of groups working on grizzly-related issues, and convene meetings regularly with environmental groups to discuss key campaigns and challenges. I've partnered with many different kinds of people, including the hunting community, for example, which may seem like an unlikely ally. But many experienced hunters understand that elk and bears have similar habitat needs, so by working with us they help protect their own interests.

Who are the main opponents to grizzly conservation efforts?
The Forest Service is one, because, institutionally, especially in this administration, it is seeking to accommodate industries such as energy and logging, and motorized-vehicle users. Historically, some areas have been placed off limits to oil and gas development to protect grizzly bears. The farm bureaus, governors and most of the congressional delegation of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, as well as some counties, would also like to see the grizzly delisted to open up habitat to development and make it easier to kill bears. Some motorized vehicle users support delisting because they want more access to public lands. Interestingly enough, the push for a grizzly hunt is not coming from the hunting community. It's coming from state game agencies that believe an animal isn't worth much unless it's hunted.

What misconceptions about bears do you run across?
For many people, there is nothing quite like the fear of being eaten by a large carnivore. In fact, though, you're more likely to be attacked by a dog than a bear. Three million visitors go through Yellowstone every year without incident -- and the last time someone was killed by a bear in the park was in 1986. There are many things you can do to avoid problems, like being knowledgeable about where bears are likely to be and when, carrying bear pepper spray, camping safely and being alert in the backcountry. Another misconception is that environmentalists want a lockout of public lands. There are limitations on the amount of development that grizzly bears can tolerate, but people and bears can certainly coexist.

How did you get interested in grizzly bears?
About 20 years ago, I was teaching mountaineering in Wyoming and ended up working for a number of months in grizzly habitat in and around Yellowstone. I learned to hang food out of reach of the bears and to listen for every twig snap. That makes the landscape very, very different -- and it wakes you up. I also discovered that the bear ties everything in the ecosystem together -- and the complexities of its relationships are astonishing. If you get interested in bears, you learn about key foods, like whitebark pine, which is disappearing because of blister rust disease, and army cutworm moths, which are very vulnerable to seasonal weather patterns. By protecting bears, you really do protect the whole ecosystem, from big game to trout and birds.

What will happen if we lose grizzlies in the lower 48 states?
There will be several layers of loss. There will be a spiritual loss for Americans who will have to travel to Alaska or Canada to spot a grizzly. On a symbolic level, too, we'll look like real hypocrites as we instruct other countries about conservation when we, the affluent United States, lack the will to protect an icon of our nation's heritage if it needs habitat that extends far beyond our national parks. We'll also lose out ecologically, considering that bears help maintain the health of the ecosystem. And we could face this problem very quickly: when you only have about 500 bears left in Yellowstone, with only a quarter to a fifth of the population breeding, and key food sources at risk from drought or fires, as well as unprecedented energy and human population pressures, you're really not very far from zero.

Related NRDC Pages
Grizzly Bears in Peril
NRDC's BioGems Website
Press Release, July 2005: "Feds Expected to Revoke Protection for Yellowstone Grizzlies"

last revised 7.21.05