WILDLIFE -- The grizzly population in northwestern Montana is growing at 3 percent a year -- not bad for grizzlies, experts say.

The grizzly is still being scrutinized for removal from threatened species status.

Last year, 941 grizzlies were roaming the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, according to Rick Mace, leader of a team tracking the population trend of grizzlies in the ecosystem.

That is up from the 765 bears found in 2008 by fellow researcher Kate Kendall, who counted bears based on DNA testing of hair samples collected at scratching sites.

In 2009, according to the Great Falls Tribune, there were 913 bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, a region the size of Maryland and Delaware combined that includes Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.

"For grizzly bears, 3 percent is good," Mace told  Tribune outdoor writer Michael Babcock. "It is not the very best we have ever seen globally, but in terms of brown bear populations, when you are within 2 to 4 percent (annual growth), that is almost as good as it can biologically get.

"This means there is a very high survival rate of females, and a relatively high reproductive rate. They are kicking out babies, and the females are surviving well," he said.