Reintroduction of Grizzly
Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) are important figures in America's wildlife heritage. For many people, the grizzly embodies the spirit of the American Wilderness. Up until the turn of the 20th century, they were fairly common throughout most of the western United States. It is estimated that around 50,000 grizzly bears roamed the American West before the arrival of the Europeans. Over the past hundred years, population levels as well as distribution have significantly decreased due to habitat destruction and intentional killings. Today, grizzly bears roam in only 2 percent of their historic range in the lower 48 states. Between 800 and 1000 grizzly bears live freely in a few population areas in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Washington. The distribution style of the grizzly bear in the American West can be described as a metapopulation, a set of spatially disjunct populations, among which there is some potential immigration. Grizzly bears are most vulnerable when living in sparse populations in only a small portion of their original historical range. The grizzly bear was once an abundant species in the Bitterroot ecosystem of Idaho; recent studies (USFWS 1996) show that they have completely disappeared from that are
Contrary to my original impression, there is a ton of information available on grizzly reintroduction, especially in the Bitterroot Wilderness. All of the information I used came from the Internet, as it proved to be the most up to date resource. Most of the websites I encountered were those either run by federal or state agencies or environmental groups, such as the USFWS. The websites provided all the legislative documents involved in the reintroduction efforts, along with a lot of information taken from studies regarding habitat and ecosystem stability and sustainability. These websites were mostly informational, and in support of grizzly reintroduction. The NWF website proved very helpful as it had all the updated articles posted regarding the issue. However, there were websites in opposition, mostly belonging to private organizations or people. One website is that of Senator Burns, in which he states his ideas and desires to halt the reintroduction process. Most of the scientific support that I found supported the reintroduction efforts and most opposition was clearly due to alterior motives and conflicting interests. As stated earlier, the idea of reintroducing grizzly bears was prompted in 1975 by the designation of them as a threatened species under the ESA. The grizzly bear recovery plan, written by the USFWS in 1982, proposed to evaluate the Bitterroot ecosystem as one of several potential areas of recovery. In the spring of 1983, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) was created by the USFWS. The IGBC is a group of high-level administrators from both the state and federal levels. Its members are involved in the grizzly bear recovery effort and aid in the implementation of the grizzly bear recovery plan. The results of an extended study by Davis and Butterfield in 1991 showed that the Bitterroot Wilderness could support over 200 grizzly bears with the proper amount of time. The USFWS proposed to reestablish the species in this area of its historical range through the means of reintroduction. The Selway-Bitterroot Ecosystem Subcommittee (SBES) was created in 1993 under the authorization of the IGBC
Some common words found in the essay are:
ESA Ranching, American West, Bitterroot Wilderness, Act ESA, Mountains Settlers, Gale Norton, Bitterroot Ecosystem, Civil War, USFWS IGBC, Senator Burns, grizzly bears, grizzly bear, bitterroot ecosystem, grizzly reintroduction, american west, reintroduction efforts, bear recovery, grizzly bear recovery, bear recovery plan, historical range, american wilderness, reintroduction process,
Approximate Word count = 1445
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
