November 9, 1999 Response to THE GREAT GRIZZLY SEARCH.
In reference to your Nov. 2 article about the possibility of grizzly bears in the
Selway-Bitterroot Wildernesses
· The Wilderness Act of 1964 88-577 as amended assures us that the federal government or
its agencies will not interfere with the various states' rights to manage wildlife on
public and private property.
In order to avoid an obvious bias, Concerned About Grizzlies (CAG) recommends "The
Great Grizzly Search" be conducted by state agencies. Idaho's Department of Fish and
Game in concert with Montana's Fish Wildlife and Parks should be given the task to
determine if there are grizzly bears that are resident in the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank
Church wildernesses.
Ray Karr, a retired forester, observed several yours ago that the food source for the original grizzly population in
the Selway-Bittterroot Wilderness were the salmon, the steelhead and the whitebark pine
nuts. Larry Irwin, a noted ecologist, did a study that confirms there is grave doubts
about the quality of the habitat for grizzly bears.
Today only about 1 or 2 percent of that original food source exists in the wildernesses.
This is primarily due to the failure of the fisheries over the last 90 years or so (a
University of Washington study determined the early grizzly bears' diet consisted of 90 percent fish) and a severe
loss of abundance in whitebark
pine stands due to blister rust disease and fire during the same period.
In regards to other replacement food sources such as tubers, roots, berries and the like,
these are also Scarce because of the drought nature of this area. The Bitterroot Mountains
have only two thirds of the precipitation of the Yellowstone or Glacier national park
habitats and it is doubtful grizzlies would stay there.
If the wildernesses in question were suitable habitat, grizzly bears would be there now.
If you would like to read more about conditions in the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church
wildernesses, log onto the Web site at: "http://www. bitterroot.com/grizzly/
hottopic.htm"