Grizzly Bear Subcommittee Spring Meeting Set

The spring meeting of the Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee, the multi-agency group responsible for recovery and management of the grizzly bear in the Yellowstone Ecosystem, will be on April 20 and 21 at the Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson, Wyo. The meeting will run from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, and from 8 a.m. to about noon Thursday, April 21. Grizzly bear recovery in the contiguous United States and adjacent Canadian provinces is overseen by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. Recovery efforts are broken down by the five ecosystems that have been identified as once having held the great bear and still retain the habitat required for grizzly recovery. The Yellowstone Ecosystem has always maintained a population of grizzly bears. Recovery efforts started in 1975 and eventually resulted in the bears being delisted in 2007. Subsequent legal challenges in 2009 resulted in the bears being placed back on the endangered species list as a threatened species. A joint appeal filed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Justice is being considered by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. While the legal process proceeds, subcommittee member agencies are still responsible for managing the bear on public and private ground. An increasing and expanding grizzly bear population has led to increasing challenges for all of the partners. Because bears are moving to recolonize areas their ancestors once roamed, a greater emphasis is being placed on working with county governments and citizen's groups to help reduce the potential for conflicts between humans and bears. The spring meeting has a full agenda with reports from all of the subcommittee member agencies about ongoing bear related management and studies. "On the afternoon of the 20th we are going to have a workshop all about whitebark pine," said subcommittee chairman Steve Schmidt of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. "We think that educating (subcommittee) members and the public about various aspects of the grizzly's habitat is important to understanding what it takes to manage the bears." The public is invited to attend all of the meetings, and time will be provided for comments from the public regarding agenda items. Individuals requiring special assistance should contact Gregg Losinski at gregg.losinski@idfg.idaho.gov or through the Idaho Relay Service at 1-800-377-3529 (TDD). A copy of the meeting agenda can be viewed at the subcommittee portion of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee website at www.igbconline.org. For information contact Losinski at 208-390-0635.