Nutritional Ecology of Ursids: A Review of Newer Methods and Management Implications
The capability to understand the nutritional ecology of free-ranging bears has increased dramatically in the last 20 years. Advancements have occurred because (1) managers and biologists recognized the need to link habitat quality, productivity, and variability with bear movements, home ranges, and demographic parameters like reproductive output, survival, and population growth, and (2) several research […]
A Comparative Analysis of Management Options for Grizzly Bear Conservation in the U.S.-Canada Trans-Border Area
Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) populations spanning the U.S.-Canada border in the south Selkirk, Purcell-Yaak, and Cabinet Mountains are small, vulnerable, and at the front lines of any further range contraction in North America. Recent genetics work demonstrated that the south Selkirk grizzlies are an isolated population (no male or female connectivity) of fewer than 100 […]
Promoting Understanding: The Approach of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear Outreach Project
The North Cascades Ecosystem (NCE) in Washington State is one of 6 grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) recovery zones in the lower 48 states and is contiguous with the grizzly bear population of south central British Columbia (BC). Fewer than 20 grizzly bears are estimated to remain in the NCE. Observations and verified grizzly bear sign […]
Integrating Science and Road Access Management: Lessons from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem
Land management decisions affecting threatened or endangered species are often based on literature reviewed by agency biologists or by the evaluation of empirical data by technical committees. Regardless, it is not often that research can address all of the issues that arise when developing management guidelines. Successful integration of research and management may depend on […]
Grizzly Bear Recovery Planning in the British Columbia Portion of the North Cascades: Lessons Learned and Re-Learned
The process of recovering small populations of grizzly bears such as the one occupying the North Cascades Mountains of southwestern British Columbia and northwestern Washington is a long-term one from both biological and social perspectives, and carries uncertain prospects for success. I describe the development of a grizzly bear recovery plan for the British Columbia […]
Trends in Road Development and Access Management in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones
Unlimited use of forest roads can result in taking of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and reduced progress toward recovery. We examined trends in road development and motorized access management in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk grizzly bear recovery zones by evaluating 3 bear management units (BMUs) for amount and density of open and total roads and […]
Re-Connecting Grizzly Bear Populations: Prospects for Participatory Projects
Small, isolated populations of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) typically have poor survival outlooks. Persistence of such populations will depend on either intrusive, resource-intensive management, or re-connection with other subpopulations through linkage habitat. Much of the discussion of linkage habitat focuses on ecological information. We cannot overlook, however, the cultural and political dimensions of these landscapes. […]
Landscape Permeability for Grizzly Bear Movements in Washington and Southwestern British Columbia
Providing opportunities for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) to move between blocks of habitat is important for the long-term conservation of grizzly bear populations. While the particulars of grizzly bear habitat selection during long-distance movements are poorly understood, some landscape characteristics such as road density and land cover type are correlated with grizzly bear habitat use […]
A Model-Based Appraisal of Habitat Conditions for Grizzly Bears in the Cabinet-Yaak Region of Montana and Idaho
We used a broad-scale model based on observations of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) or their sign, calibrated to reported putative death rate, to appraise current habitat conditions in the Cabinet-Yaak region of Montana. Habitat capability (i.e., potential grizzly bear densities) and regional human population sizes had the greatest effects in this model. We predicted the […]
Demographics and Population Trends of Grizzly Bears in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk Ecosystems of British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, and Washington
We summarize and report survival and cause-specific mortality of grizzly bears in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk Mountains recovery zones from 1983-2002 to examine effects on the populations. Fifty-four percent of total known mortality in the Cabinet-Yaak was human-caused (n = 28) and 80% of total known mortality in the Selkirk Mountains was human-caused (n = […]
