Free: Contests & Raffles.
I was at the state Society of American Foresters and The Wildlife Society convention last weekend, and there was a 30 minute discussion about the reintroduction of grizz. At the end of the program, I asked the presenter "How was the desired number of grizzlies (200)" determined?" He gave an answer basically saying that studies have shown carrying capacity to be between 250-350, so they aimed for 200 as a sort of "palatable number". I started thinking about that more after the presentation, and my tinfoil-hat conspiracy theory is that they are aiming for this number to guarantee the grizz never reach population numbers to begin the process of being delisted and revert back to state management. The more I think about the answer he gave and the reasoning behind it, the more sense it makes.
The issue is the NCNP is an area that is not conducive to sustain a grizzly population of that magnitude. Thus they will have to venture out and before the state and NCNP(not that they will be hunted in the park) will EVER allow a hunting season for grizzlies to occur the population will be way out of control outside the park. This is what the conservationist groups are banking on so they can justify removal of hunting seasons. Also the deer, elk and other animals that support the bears and wolves survival will be below the population to do so. It's not like man hunted out the grizzly population there its because that area does not support their growth.
One of the key aspects of grizzly bear recovery is human access management.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd542099.pdfIt never ends I never seen a lynx in the wedge, how can it be a "core area" ?? I seen a few in Canada up higher but never in the wedge, not even tracks. Here's the really bad newsQuoteOne of the key aspects of grizzly bear recovery is human access management.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd542099.pdfIt never ends
Quote from: KFhunter on May 16, 2017, 09:32:58 PMhttps://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd542099.pdfIt never ends Don't buy the BS. No grizzly "reintroduction" is occurring on the Colville National Forest.A small grizzly bear population persists in the Selkirks portion, with several grizzlies also documented sporadically to the west in the Wedge ("There are currently believed to be at least 70-80 grizzly bears in the Selkirk Recovery Zone with numbers approximately equally divided between the Canadian and U.S. portions of the ecosystems." - http://igbconline.org/selkirkcabinet-yaak/). The USFS and other agencies are required by law to manage habitat on the Forest for native wildlife that persist there, including threatened and endangered species such as lynx and grizzlies, for whom recovery plans of varying sorts must be in place. Acknowledging that while updating the CNF Forest Plan is standard operating procedure.I can certainly understand folks having concerns around restoring a functioning grizzly bear population in the North Cascades. But that's not at all what's occurring on the Colville. Managing wild public lands with the needs of all the native species occupying the land in mind, while responsibly balancing such habitat conservation with the multi-use mandate of areas like National Forests, that's entirely consistent with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and our nation's wildlife laws.
people management. Why shut down/gate roads (which makes everyone angry) when you can just let them washout and not repair them?