Proposed Tri State Trophy Grizzly Bear Hunts
Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:10 am
As you may be aware, May 2017 the Grizzly Bear was sadly and perhaps, tragically delisted from all federal protection under Federal Law Endangered Species Act. I for one, strongly oppose the ESA delisting for a host of various reasons far too numerous to delve into with this post. Suffice to say, if the delisting becomes final and then survives numerous forthcoming legal challenges, the fate of the grizzly bear will be void of federal protection or consequence with grizzly bear management surrendered to the tri state wildlife management agencies. In advance of the May 2017 Delisting, collectively MT, WY & ID already had an elaborate Tri State Agreement to sponsor legal self proclaimed "Trophy Grizzly Bear Hunting." This calls for two hunting seasons each year (spring and fall) and even calls for the legal killing of collared grizzly bears! Please note the hunting regulation defined as "TROPHY." For the record I'm not opposed to legal, ethical hunting. I am adamantly against Grizzly Bear hunting! Look what resulted from the cultures of the 1800's and early 1900's..the grizzly was killed off to the very brink of extinction. Be honest, nobody hunts, poaches or otherwise kills grizzly bears to "put meat in the freezer" as with elk, deer and other sustainable game. Grizzlies in the lower 48 should never be considered as "game." The overall grizzly population is exceedingly sparse, genetic low production/high mortality rates with compounded negative effects of habitat loss and a host of other natural and human related threats to their survival.
Allow me to digress to the debated wisdom in the first place of removing the Grizzly Bear from the ESA in and of itself. While I reject the wisdom and question the real Delisting motives as financial and totally drawn to advance narrow special interests, If the real data, though highly debated and counter argued, was sufficient enough to proceed with extreme caution to Delist, then it may make some sense to do so and accurately and objectively measure the impact of same. However, do so WITHOUT ANY TROPHY HUNTING provision. Hunting makes zero sense.
Consider the following; 1) the GYST grizzly population is "estimated" to be approx. 600 bears in a massive geological area. 2) biology and other wildlife experts opine that the grizzly bear population has an annual ten percent (10%) mortality rate, or about 60 bears a year lost through existing natural and human related interactions. 3) the reproduction and survival rate is far less than 10% per year. Now, add the forthcoming strain and effects to an already precarious population that will unquestionably follow when MT, WY & ID enact twice per year "Trophy Hunting Grizzly Bears" and well, you can see what the results will be. In addition to the hunting/killing factor, consider that simply removing all federal protection, prosecution and penalties from ESA protection will likely open the door for non hunting illegal killing grizzlies because there will be no fear of enforcement, penalties or consequences against poachers and/or others feel entitled it is their right to kill a grizzly. Do you not think that in addition to the harvested "legal" bears hunted/tallied, far more bears will be wounded, maimed and displaced by both trophy hunters and others without fear of federal action as a deterrent? This entire scenario will have devastating effects and perhaps, fatal repercussions to what now remains our national treasure. If you think this will have no effect on YNP and its grizzly population, think again! All this will have a profound negative effect on YST bear population. Once they cross a mere foot beyond those invisible YNP borders, as nature so dictates, they immediately become targets not only to rifles, but the big money special interests behind it all.... collared and all.
Want a glimpse into that future? Just look at the current! Please consider the following excerpts from a recent 2017 Jackson Hole News article. This data alone is startlingly (23 grizzlies killed since mid Sept alone) and doesn't even touch the forthcoming combined ill effects of loss of protection under the ESA loss and state sponsored Trophy Grizzly Bear Hunting regs. It's only the tip of the iceberg! If the realities of the above and below are of concern and is not your vision for the future, please get involved before its too late again and history repeats itself.
"A rough year for bears, people
Hunter sightings of grizzlies in the field have been few, he said, though their tracks and sign are being reported with more regularity. There was one report last week of a hunter’s left-behind elk meat being appropriated in the Antelope Flats area, though scavenging wolves were the likely culprit.
Around the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem it has been a rough year for conflicts between hunters and grizzlies. A federal database that tracks deaths of the recently state-managed species shows at least 23 “known” or “probable” grizzly mortalities that are “under investigation” since the middle of September.
It’s not coincidental that the dates coincide with when big game seasons kicked off, drawing rifle-toting humans into the field.
In Wyoming there were “at least” 13 bear-human conflicts through Nov. 14 this fall, Wyoming Game and Fish said in a press release. It noted seven grizzly bears shot and four people injured."
Allow me to digress to the debated wisdom in the first place of removing the Grizzly Bear from the ESA in and of itself. While I reject the wisdom and question the real Delisting motives as financial and totally drawn to advance narrow special interests, If the real data, though highly debated and counter argued, was sufficient enough to proceed with extreme caution to Delist, then it may make some sense to do so and accurately and objectively measure the impact of same. However, do so WITHOUT ANY TROPHY HUNTING provision. Hunting makes zero sense.
Consider the following; 1) the GYST grizzly population is "estimated" to be approx. 600 bears in a massive geological area. 2) biology and other wildlife experts opine that the grizzly bear population has an annual ten percent (10%) mortality rate, or about 60 bears a year lost through existing natural and human related interactions. 3) the reproduction and survival rate is far less than 10% per year. Now, add the forthcoming strain and effects to an already precarious population that will unquestionably follow when MT, WY & ID enact twice per year "Trophy Hunting Grizzly Bears" and well, you can see what the results will be. In addition to the hunting/killing factor, consider that simply removing all federal protection, prosecution and penalties from ESA protection will likely open the door for non hunting illegal killing grizzlies because there will be no fear of enforcement, penalties or consequences against poachers and/or others feel entitled it is their right to kill a grizzly. Do you not think that in addition to the harvested "legal" bears hunted/tallied, far more bears will be wounded, maimed and displaced by both trophy hunters and others without fear of federal action as a deterrent? This entire scenario will have devastating effects and perhaps, fatal repercussions to what now remains our national treasure. If you think this will have no effect on YNP and its grizzly population, think again! All this will have a profound negative effect on YST bear population. Once they cross a mere foot beyond those invisible YNP borders, as nature so dictates, they immediately become targets not only to rifles, but the big money special interests behind it all.... collared and all.
Want a glimpse into that future? Just look at the current! Please consider the following excerpts from a recent 2017 Jackson Hole News article. This data alone is startlingly (23 grizzlies killed since mid Sept alone) and doesn't even touch the forthcoming combined ill effects of loss of protection under the ESA loss and state sponsored Trophy Grizzly Bear Hunting regs. It's only the tip of the iceberg! If the realities of the above and below are of concern and is not your vision for the future, please get involved before its too late again and history repeats itself.
"A rough year for bears, people
Hunter sightings of grizzlies in the field have been few, he said, though their tracks and sign are being reported with more regularity. There was one report last week of a hunter’s left-behind elk meat being appropriated in the Antelope Flats area, though scavenging wolves were the likely culprit.
Around the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem it has been a rough year for conflicts between hunters and grizzlies. A federal database that tracks deaths of the recently state-managed species shows at least 23 “known” or “probable” grizzly mortalities that are “under investigation” since the middle of September.
It’s not coincidental that the dates coincide with when big game seasons kicked off, drawing rifle-toting humans into the field.
In Wyoming there were “at least” 13 bear-human conflicts through Nov. 14 this fall, Wyoming Game and Fish said in a press release. It noted seven grizzly bears shot and four people injured."