Grizzly Bear Recovery Case Study

Wolves have always been a symbol of the wild, free in spirit and roamers of the land. These animals are considered majestic and protectors of the wilderness. They have always roamed the western United States, although their population has fluctuated over time. Over the past 10 years wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park has been a controversial topic to those of the United States. As of 1995, wolves have been reintroduced into the park. This has come with some strong opposition and yet has prevailed. The future of the wolf in Yellowstone park is now looking bright, although not certain since there still are those who want them banished again.

With the reintroduction of the Grey Wolf into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem there have been many people who are opposed. Mainly the ranchers in Montana

Gauss’ Law states that no two organisms can occupy the same ecological niche without excluding the other, but what happens when man gets involved with nature and tries to introduce a species where it doesn’t belong which in turn provides a second organism to fill the same niche as the first? The results of human intervention have often been disastrous for the organism that we’re supposedly helping. Humans often times do not understand the complexity of the implications that are caused directly through our intervention. In 1974, the gray wolf was listed on the Endangered Species List, and in an effort to reestablish their populations, wolves were re-introduced into Yellowstone

Ed Yong makes very valid points on how the wolves of Yellowstone have impacted the overly populated elk herds. He has this to say about the herds; “Today the population stands at just over 6,000 down from 19,000 in the elk’s wolf-free heyday,” (ll57). This might seem like a terrible drop in the elk’s numbers, but it is actually a good thing. Yong tells us, “The large deer had run amok in the wolf-free decades, causing serious damage to the park’s trees,” (ll5-6). So in reality, while there are far less elk now, the trees can start to build back up again.

Today, Louisiana has made extraordinary rescues with species that were once considered threatened or endangered. Due to safe planning and the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service projected to remove the Louisiana Black Bear from the list of threatened species. In May 2015, approximately 350 black bears to 600 black bears existed in Northern Louisiana in which $900,000 was invested to restore its population. Severe habitat loss of the black bear is what initially led to the decline in the population. In 1992, the Louisiana Black Bear was placed on the list of endangered and threatened species and in May 2015, they were officially removed (Wildlife Division - Texas Parks and Wildlife Department,

This all happened because yellowstone was named one of the many rehabilitation places where the gray wolf species would recover after almost being whipt out entirely in the west of the rockies.The wolves were brought to yellowstone from another part of the country.The rehabilitation was called a success so the federal government made a ackt to tack them of the endangered species list after a so called complete recovery but the scientist said that the wolves were not yet at a point to go to the game and wildlife control so they sud the government to stop them frum taking them of the endangered species

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service are considering removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list once Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have enough wolves to be deemed sufficient to continue to expand the wolf population, requiring only that each of these three states have a management plan in effect to prevent the gray wolf from becoming endangered again. With the current attitude of the governments in these states, the wolf should not lose their federal support under the Endangered Species Act as it would merely serve to cause the wolves to become endangered once again, or at best, held to the absolute minimum population that the states can pass off as “viable, self-sustaining populations”

advocating for the grey wolf to remain on the endangered species list, through his format and use of lists and bolded literature. There do not seem to be any apparent violations within the conventions. The time line of these documents is in very close proximity as both of the memos were written during the month of October on day twenty-seven and twenty-eight, within the year of 2015. Some social and political issues that come into play during these memos is the issue that Oregon’s Commissioners is considering delisting grey wolves from the endangered species list based on propositions that I quote are “...not supported by science, the law or the public.” and “The continued insistence on delisting wolves seems motivated by politics and specious perception that it would make things easier for the agency.” (Page 4). It is apparent that the motive to remove grey wolves from the endangered species list would make it “easier” for the agencies that constantly have to monitor and deal with the problems that arise with having wolves in the state but, the current wolf population in Oregon is roughly eighty to eighty-three animals which is far below the carrying capacity of the state. ExigenceThe purpose for the

These were all key factors to their near extinction. In 1974 the wolves were placed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but were not protected for long. Many environmentalist agreed with this act because environmentalist knew how crucial this keystone specie was to the ecosystem. Without the grey wolves existence, the whole rest of the ecosystem would not function properly. Unfortunately, around the 1960s, the gray wolf population was basically extinct, which resulted in a huge controversy. Luckily, “In 1995, the first 14 wolves were introduced to the Yellowstone National Park to increase the wolf population”(Transplanted) that had been decreasing gradually. Over the years more Canadian wolves were introduced to the Yellowstone National park to increase the wolf population. This procedure was successful because the wolf population throughout the Yellowstone region was on the rise. The long term goal for the environmentalists and Yellowstone park rangers would be to have around 1,000 wolves roaming the region.

Today, the Grizzly bear remains on the endangered list. However, these bears have made a remarkable recovery from 136 in 1975 to 700 in the 2000’s (National Parks Service). Unfortunately, these bears are not ready to face the unprotected world once again. This is why Grizzly bears should not be delisted from the endangered list. Grizzly bears are considered omnivores, meaning they mostly eat plants, and berries.

In his creative nonfiction novel, The Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek by Sid Marty, the author recounts the story of a grizzly bear who became unafraid of people and went on the attack. He warns readers about aggressive bears while creating a worst-case scenario situation. Throughout the novel, Marty uses fear to create mood. He also uses the setting to create uncertainty in terms of survival. Lastly, Marty develops different conflicts in his creative nonfiction novel in order to relay his message. In the end, the author writes about how human interaction with nature can lead to conflict and ultimately death.

The Black Bears were labeled as a threatened species around the 1970’s, due to over hunting and road kills. Consequently there was a Bear Conservation Rule put in place by making it illegal to hunt , posses , injure, shoot , collect , or sell.

To conduct grizzly bear surveillance in Yellowstone National Park, each bear was fitted with a collar containing radio transmitters. After the bears were released back into the forest, park rangers were able to tune into the signals coming from the collars using a radio receiver. This started a "tracking revolution" for tracking wildlife. A major disadvantage for these tracking collars though, is that they weren't much use to marine biologists as radio waves don't travel well through salt water.

In North America, the grizzly bear is a keystone species - not as a predator but as ecosystem engineers. They transfer nutrients from the oceanic ecosystem to the forest ecosystem. The first stage of the transfer

Although it came with much controversy, if they had decided to list it as endangered, there would have still been a controversy. However, they made the wrong decision. It is hard to ignore the facts that sage-grouse habitat has been destroyed. The energy industry has not only destroyed the habitat, but also modified it as well. More than 45,000 wells are in Wyoming alone. These locations disturb the natural area for the sage-brush (Aldridge 2015). These modifications to the landscape can lead to fragmentation of populations because of the interruption from energy acquisition. These locations coincide with that of the sage-grouse habitat because of its remote