Not endangered as long as there is a picknickbasket nearby.
Posted on 11/15/2005 12:18:32 PM PST by La Enchiladita
WASHINGTON - Noting that the grizzly bear population in the Yellowstone area has thrived in recent years, the Bush administration on Tuesday announced that it plans to remove federal protections for the animals in the areas around the national park.
"A population that was once plummeting towards extinction is now recovered," Interior Secretary Gale Norton said in making the announcement. "These bears are now no longer endangered" and should be removed from the Endangered Species Act listing.
The Interior Department, through the Fish and Wildlife Service, implements the Endangered Species Act.
"We are sure that these bears will have the habitat that they need," Norton added.
Significant recovery Federal wildlife officials estimate that more than 600 grizzly bears live in the region surrounding Yellowstone in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. They also describe as healthy an annual growth rate over the past decade of 4 to 7 percent.
Those numbers represent a significant recovery. Only 200 or 250 grizzlies were in that region in 1975, when grizzly bears in the lower 48 states were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Once in the hundreds of thousands, the bear population dwindled in the West early in the last century in large part because of hunting and destruction of the animals habitat.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
How does bear taste? Anybody?
Well, they're either endangered or they're not. When they're not they should be removed from this list.
Sort of greasy, mutton-like in that respect.
Has PETA approved this yet?
Gayle Norton gets almost no coverage. I guess that is because she is doing a superb job. She has negotiated a couple of regional comples solutions by getting everyone to the table. I am not sure how she is doing with the lawsuit to resolve Indian payments. It's just not on the radar screen of the Washington ech chamber.
Three Republican senators who attended the Interior news conference Tuesday used the event to call for changes in the endangered species law that would enable more animals to be removed from the list. The House passed a bill in September that would lessen the government’s role in protecting plant and animal habitat.
Love mutton. Bear stew... hmm...
It's beef like. I've only had it once, about 2 years ago. It was a bit tough and fatty, but it was good. As with any meat, I'm sure the particular cut can vary. Mine was rump roast. The tender loins are probably better. I'd eat it again.
RFE List PING.
Yeah, are they gonna arm Yogi and Boo-Boo?
How does Mr. Ranger feel about this?
Thanks. If I ever move to the mainland, I'll try and make sure I move someplace where there is hunting. I've only had game meat once, and that was because an uncle from Texas brought us some venison.
It was good.
</DU_paranoia>
I sincerly doubt the lower 48 grizzly population was ever in the hundreds of thousands, unless we are talking very low hundreds like 2.
The carrying capacity of the land is just not that great for bears unless there is a large fish population, such as you find in Alaska.
Bear populations vary depending on the productivity of the environment. In areas of low productivity, such as on Alaska’s North Slope, studies have revealed bear densities as low as one bear per 300 square miles. In areas teeming with easily available food, such as Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska, densities as high as one bear per square mile have been found. However this sort of habitat is very rare in mainland USA.
Note: Formerly, taxonomists listed brown and grizzly bears as separate species. Technically, brown and grizzly bears are classified as the same species, Ursus arctos. Brown bears on Kodiak Island are classified as a distinct subspecies from those on the mainland because they are genetically and physically isolated. They can interbreed (such as in zoos) and produce viable offspring, which is still (pretty much) the working definition of same species.
Not endangered as long as there is a picknickbasket nearby.
All this time, I thought they were two separate species...
I saw a documentary on TV recently about the grizzlies and Yellowstone. I don't understand people who get as close as they can to grizzlies just to watch them and take pictures. I don't fancy being so close to a wild creature with such strength, claws and teeth without some form of self-defense. Stupid people, IMO.
A little pricey but it's usually well worth it. I personally recommend the Ostrich and emu, you'd think it would taste like chicken or other birds, but in fact it tastes like the leanest steak I've ever had. Absolutely no fat and totally delicious.
You've maybe seen their signs in humorous emails...the advertising slogan is "We all love God's creatures, especially with a side of mashed potatoes."
Great place.
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