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 George
Armstrong Custer sets the tone for the next hundred years of human-grizzly
relations, 1874. Photo: Library of Congress
A BRIEF HISTORY
As many as 100,000 grizzlies once roamed the lower 48 states, but the
arrival of European settlers, habitat destruction, extensive shooting,
poisoning, and trapping campaigns reduced grizzly populations to 1% of
their original range here. Less than 800 grizzlies exist today in the
American Northern Rockies, mainly in and around Yellowstone and Glacier
National Parks and the Bob Marshall wilderness complex.
SALVATION THROUGH SCIENCE?
Through the science of conservation biology, we know that small, isolated
populations of species are likely to go extinct. To save the grizzly bear
in the Wild Rockies natural habitat must be protected, restored, and linked
with other wild areas. An essential component of this effort is the protection
of biological corridors which connect isolated
grizzly populations, creating a healthy metapopulation (a collection of
populations).
 Together,
the linked populations can be genetically viable over the long-term, ensuring
the continued survival of the great bear. Left isolated, grizzly populations,
including the Yellowstone grizzlies, will eventually die out. Grizzlies
are a sensitive indicator of ecosystem health; if grizzly bear populations
are protected, hundreds of species with lesser needs will be protected
as well.
In the Northern Rockies, there are three large grizzly bear recovery areas:
the Yellowstone, Salmon-Selway and Glacier/Bob Marshall ecosystems. In
order to provide viable habitat for grizzlies, these pieces must be linked
together with a system of biological corridors. Currently, the Salmon-Selway
ecosystem of central Idaho is being recommended for grizzly reintroduction.
If the Continental Divide corridor is protected, bears in central Idaho
will have the opportunity to genetically intermix with Yellowstone grizzlies,
a function that would insure the health and welfare of grizzlies.
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