Yellowstone Public Radio’s Orlinda Worthington reports on an event in Bozeman celebrating what wildlife managers call a forty year success story in recovering and protecting grizzlies.
Grizzly bears were listed on the Endangered Species Act in 1975, but the designation of protection did not mean immediate success.
“Populations were still declining in the early 80s. And that's when the states and federal government came together to form this committee.”
That’s David Diamond. He’s referring to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC), which he now heads. It was created in 1983 to further recover and conserve grizzly bear populations in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington.
“And the model has proven to be effective. We've got managers that are supporting science that's measuring the population and understanding what is affecting that population. And then we have information and education and outreach and, um, working with people to reduce, uh, conflicts as well,” Diamond said.
Today, biologists estimate there are more than 2,200 grizzly bears across four populations. Diamond says the recovery in the lower 48 states happened only through effective collaboration from hundreds of people from state and tribal wildlife managers to those who create and test bear-resistant products. Many of them will share their experiences and stories at the event.
“So we want the public to get a chance to hear from our individual dedicated scientists and managers to see that these were, you know, federal and state government employees largely who did dedicate their career, put their blood, sweat and tears into this work,” Diamond said.
The celebration of 40 years of grizzly bear recovery is Tuesday, Dec. 12, 7 - 9 .p.m. at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. It is free and open to the public.
The Winter Business Meeting of the Interagency Executive Committee is Wednesday and Thursday at the Bozeman Public Safety Center.
