Grizzlies' spot on list at stake in new study

BOISE, Idaho -- Sixteen grizzlies have been captured so far this year by teams gathering information that will be used this fall to decide whether to propose lifting federal protections of the bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team captured the grizzlies in Montana and Wyoming, while efforts in eastern Idaho have just started.

The team usually captures about 60 bears a year.

"We're evaluating whether the bear population is capable of being recovered at this time," said Chris Servheen, grizzly-bear recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"It will be ready this fall. If the answer is 'yes,' there will be a proposal to delist."

An estimated 740 grizzly bears roam the 19,000-square-mile Yellowstone ecosystem that includes portions of the three states plus Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.

Grizzly bears were first listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1975. Surveys found about 260 grizzlies in the region in 1981, Servheen said, noting that the animals have tripled their population and doubled the area they occupy since that time.

Trapped bears are examined, and DNA samples are taken to determine relationships.

Gregg Losinski of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game said about a dozen bears in that state will be fitted with $3,500 GPS collars that give biologists information about a bear's location.

The Fish and Wildlife Service delisted grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in 2007, but a judge returned the protection two years later, saying the effect of the decline in whitebark pine trees on bears wasn't given adequate consideration.

Whitebark pine nuts are a key food source for grizzlies as they prepare for hibernation.

Servheen said he didn't have a date for when the agency might decide about delisting.

"Grizzly bears are one of the greatest success stories under the Endangered Species Act," he said.

A Section on 06/22/2014

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