February 9, 1999 Guest editorial The Ravalli Republic: Grizzlies - - - Leave a legacy of hope CAG apologizes for all the maroon ink, red ink and "Hot Links," The tax payers have a right to see just how the Endangered Species Act is being misused..

Last month, Allan Walters introduced a resolution in Helena that opposed any recovery of the grizzly in the [Bitterroot Selway Wilderness] Salmon-Selway, and called for the bear to be delisted as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), with control of the bear to be returned to the states. This futile act will have no effect on recovery efforts, and, as such, wastes taxpayer money and legislators' time. The federal ESA mandates that the people of the United States, through its government agencies, recover threatened and endangered species, and as a federal statute, superseded state law.

Unfortunately for all Montanans, Walters, and his [not Allan's and our name is: CONCERNED ABOUT GRIZZLIES] Citizens Against Grizzlies (CAG) supporters often sacrificed the truth in order to make this political point. Therefore, it becomes necessary to revisit and analyze their claims for accuracy. Contrary to Walters' assertion that the majority of those who live adjacent to the recovery area oppose bringing the grizzly back, a 1995 public opinion survey commissioned by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game showed that [Ray Karr, PHD in forestry, plus other degrees worked for 36 years on every forest that have grizzly bears. He testified that the "...citizens of Ravalli County have been left out of the two public opinion surveys that have been ordered by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wildlife Federation Group...a statistically sound survey, randomly conducted...determined that 59 percent of the citizens or (20,060) oppose grizzly introduction...while 19 percent 6,460 supported it...We can say with 96 percent accuracy that this project definitely does not have local support in Ravalli County...which renders the next statement a lie."] 66 percent of those who lived near the reintroduction area supported recovery.

Public testimony at seven hearings in Idaho and Montana [The figures that were obtained by the National Wildlife Federation were fatally flawed. They asked the question Would you be willing to introduce grizzly bears into a large roadless area ..."with out the hint of civilization near by?" The accompanying map showed Missoula, MT and Stanley, ID and none of the communities in Ravalli County or in Idaho until you get to Stanley. USFWS said they or their agents would not use the data because it was acquired under false pretenses. That not withstanding they used it on numerous occasions the latest being January 12, 1999 to the Committee considering the Grizzly Resolution in Helena, MT Capitol Building.] affirm that most actually favor the return of the great bear. In Hamilton, more than half who testified in 1997 favored recovery, as did 76 percent of all written comments submitted to the USF&WS including [G] governor Racicot.

Cries of insufficient habitat in the Salmon Selway also ring hollow. Salmon runs are not a prerequisite for grizzly survival. [You can't have it both ways. Either the "honest scientists" know what they are talking about or you know what you are talking about. CAG will opt for the "honest scientists!"] Neither the bears of Yellowstone, nor in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, require salmon to survive. Instead of listening to those grasping at any straw to derail grizzly recovery in the Salmon Selway, look to those who devote their lives to understanding the bear. Internationally recognized and respected grizzly experts at the Craighead Institute have documented the availability of quality grizzly habitat. Even our own County Commissioner Smut Warren asserts that a few grizzlies inhabit the Salmon-Selway now. The key to recovery remains to-protect that habitat, which is under constant threat from roading, logging, and illegal ORV use.

Anti-grizzly activist Jim Freeman was right when he was quoted as saying "let's get on with [the] business of taking-care of habitat," but missed the boat when he went on to claim that "if you manage grizzly bear habitat to the exclusion of all other things, the only thing you're worrying about is grizzly bears." The grizzly, with its [See Globalized Grizzlies}habitat requirements of large, unroaded, pristine wildlands, is an umbrella species. If you protect enough habitat to support a viable grizzly population,

CAG Comment

[Craighaed asserted at a meeting of the joint State Houses' Committee dealing with grizzly bears that a healthy population of 1000 was needed to assure the maintenance of grizzly bears and the ideal population would be 3,000.  The number of grizzly bears proposed for the Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Wilderness by the Federal Government is from 250 to 300; far short of the ideal of 1,000 to 3,000 to have a viable population.  Even by their own experts the reintroduction of grizzly bears into the Wildernesses under consideration is fatally flawed.] you will also preserve countless other threatened or endangered plants and animal species such as the bull trout, Canadian lynx, wolverine, etc. Thus by protecting on the scale necessary to ensure the survival of the grizzly, you save time and money by eliminating species-specific actions.

Another baseless claim is that the grizzly is not really threatened on a "worldwide" level, with most living relatives of the grizzly inhabiting parts of Russia. Given the chaos in that country,

Which brings us to another point. Why is the federal government so intent on reintroducing grizzly bears into the Bitterroot Selway Frank Church wilderness??? Is it to complete a link in Y TO Y?

The plot is much more sinister says Kathleen Marquardt.

End CAG Comments

to think that any concerted effort will be made to keep that population viable is delusional. The only place on the planet where the grizzly is protected is in the lower 48 (states). In this country it took less than a century to decimate a thriving grizzly population - on a par with that existing in Russia to less than 1,000 bears today, occupying less than [about 2 percent] 1 percent of their historic range. To those impressed by a 'worldwide" figure of 150,000 bears, think about the brief decade it took to nearly wipe out the 60 million bison that once roamed our plains.

In light of the grizzly's demise in the lower 48, pleas to [plans] to "turn control over to the states" are laughable. The decimation of both grizzlies and their habitat occurred under state control. Now only four states south of Canada have grizzlies in the wild and those populations are threatened.

The reason we have federal control through the EBA is that extinction is the most probable result of state control. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks managed, somehow through their bumbling, to maintain the populations of grizzly bear {the Feds have taken over} in and adjacent to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks not to mention the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Selkirk Yaak, Cabinets, Missions mountains since the agency came into existence. Friends of the Bitterroot; MFWP's are not as dumb as you might think!

Walters' resolution make this point quite effectively. Claims that grizzly recovery will lock-up our national forests are also without merit. Those making such pronouncements, can point to no instances where this has happened due to the presence of grizzlies. The temporary closure of a trail to prevent human bear conflicts does not constitute a "lock-up. The Forest Service closes parts of the forest all the time - for timber sales; work on Tin Cup dam. Did any of the CAG people raise a fuss over these closures?

Finally, Walters' allegation that all those who opposed his resolution are making their living. by being lobbyists" is nothing but a lie [LIE??? Many of the legislators commented that not one of those advocating the reintroduction {exploitation}of grizzly bears was from the Bitterroot Valley. In fact, all those lobbiests named a National group or institution that advocates the reintroduction {exploitation} of grizzly bears.] by someone desperately trying to build a case out of nothing. Our 700 plus members are all volunteers. We have [a] one half-time staff person. We have better things to do than to respond to hate-filled political agendas, but Walters offers us no choice. We are working to recover the grizzly in the Salmon-Selway because we care deeply about the great bear and its place in that vital ecosystem. The Salmon-Selway represents some of the last wild roadless areas in the lower 48. The people of the United States have the capability to leave to our children and their children, a legacy - not one of roads, extinctions, and clearcuts, but one of compassion,. Biodiversity and hope. Recovering the great bear in the Salmon-Selway will be a giant step in the latter direction.

Shawn Wathen
Friends of the Bitterroot [Apologize to Montana State Government Representative, Allan Walters. YOU OWE HIM!!! He is looking out for you too!]

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