Government Considers Reintroducing Grizzly Bears into Remote Bitterroot-Selway Region

Thanks to the hard work and continued pressure of wildlife advocates, there may soon be some good news for grizzly bears. 

In an effort to restore a breeding population of this threatened species, the federal government is considering the reintroduction of grizzly bears into the remote Bitterroot-Selway region of Montana and Idaho.

The Bitterroot ecosystem was once home to thousands of grizzly bears until eradication efforts drove the species to extinction in the area by the mid-1900s. 

Although the Bitterroot ecosystem was identified 31 years ago as a grizzly bear recovery zone, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been dragging its feet on recovery efforts. That all changed when grizzly bears started moving back into their old home on their own. The discovery of a grizzly bear den in the Bitterroots sparked a lawsuit demanding the USFWS do the right thing and move forward with recovery efforts in the area. 

The USFWS has now opened a public comment period on the issue, which will run through March 18th.

We need as many people as possible to comment and let Fish and Wildlife know that they have delayed protecting these bears for too long. Grizzly bears deserve to move back into their historic territory to help this ecologically critical species recover and thrive.

Your comment can be as simple as “I support the reintroduction of grizzly bears to the Bitterroot ecosystem to help the recovery of this threatened species”

So far, there are fewer than 200 public comments and the majority are opposed to grizzly bear reintroduction so we need to make sure our voices of reason are louder than those of irrational hatred of wildlife. Together, we can make sure there are thousands of comments in support of grizzly bear recovery.