Grizzly Bears Making a Comeback in Yellowstone Park

Grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park and nearby forests are bouncing back from a brush with extinction and should be off the threatened-species list within a decade.

But the long-term prognosis is uncertain because bear habitat continues to be pressured by development interests, either for resources or recreation, said Chris Servheen of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “All those pressures will continue in grizzly bear habitat. They’ll never go away.”

In the short term, Servheen said, the number of bears with cubs during the last four years has been good, bears are more dispersed, mortality rates are down and, perhaps most important, few bears are seeking human food sources.

Won’t Drop Guard

However, agencies managing bears will need to continue working to protect the grizzlies and their habitat, he said. “As soon as we say they’re recovered and we drop our guard, we’ll be in a crisis situation again.”

Two decades ago, grizzly bears fed largely at dumps in and near the park. In the early 1970s, the dumps were closed, a controversial move that forced the bears to go “cold turkey” off human food sources. Many continued to seek food from humans, leading to encounters in which the bears rarely won; so many were killed in the 1970s that there is no accurate count, but some put it at well over 100.

Wildlife agencies and communities fenced dumps and garbage areas, campers were required to keep food out of bears’ reach, bears--especially females of reproductive age--were moved, and public education campaigns were begun.

‘Come a Long Way’

Now, Servheen said: “The goal is in sight. When we started, there was so much to do that we didn’t know where to start. We’ve come a long way.”

It may be several years before removing the grizzly from the threatened-species list can be seriously considered, he said.

Michael Scott of the Wilderness Society said much of the bears’ future depends on the Forest Service.