Down On Grizzlies

Endangered species

A retired Forest Service wilderness specialist, who once managed the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, says lack of habitat and proximity to population centers could spell disaster for the plan to reintroduce grizzlies into the area.

“Normally, as a wilderness specialist, I’d be in full support of bringing back anything,” said Ed Bloedel, a 34-year Forest Service veteran. “I believe in the ‘wilderness experience’ to rely on yourself and be ready to take care of yourself in grizzly country.

“But this plan is not fair to grizzly bears or to us,” he told the Ravalli (Mont.) Republic newspaper.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing sending three to five bears a year into the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness for five years as part of an effort to build an “experimental” population that over ensuing decades could grow toward a recovery target of 280 bears.

“Lots of opposition comes from the fear of the animal and fear of closures,” Bloedel said. “My opposition comes from lack of habitat and close proximity of the population.”

Because of restrictions on fire, the area is now heavily timbered, and there are not the openings available that would provide the plants and small animals for the bears to feed on,” he said.

As a result, Bloedel said the bears will be attracted to the populated areas of the Bitterroot and the Clearwater valleys.