Sunday, January 23, 2011

You know what's a really ineffective way to kill Yellowstone grizzlies? Adding trace amounts of CO2 to the air

Yellowstone grizzly crisis means "Some bears are gonna die" - National bear spray | Examiner.com
There are now 600 grizzlies in the Yellowstone region, but Schmidt claims, "Bears on the fringes aren't essential to the population."

If grizzlies are "delisted" and lose Endangered Species Act protection, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have agreed on a minimum population of 500 grizzlies in the Yellowstone region--but it's not known if Yellowstone's "primary conservation area" for grizzlies can sustain 500 bears.
Yellowstone grizzlies
On March 22, 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced that the Yellowstone Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of grizzly bears is a recovered population no longer meeting the ESA’s definition of threatened or endangered. This DPS has increased from estimates as low as 136 individuals when listed in 1975 to more than 500 animals as of 2006. This population has been increasing between 4 and 7 percent annually. The range of this population also has increased dramatically as evidenced by the 48 percent increase in occupied habitat since the 1970s.

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