🚀 go-pugleaf

My Audubon magazine ran a piece about the "wilderness heart of Idaho" and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Dept.'s contemplating re-introducing Grizzly
Bears into the Selway Bitteroot/Frank Church River of No Return areas,
"perhaps the biggest unbroken piece of roadless land in the lower 48
states." (Perhaps? Name a larger one!)

Unlike most wild land in the West, the average elevation is low -
4,000 to 5,000 feet, with much winter moisture. Immense wildfires keep
the vegetation "remarkably diverse." 100,000 elk thrive in this 3.5
million acre paradise, as do deer, moose, and wolves. But, the last
confirmed Grizzly was killed by a ranger in 1956, in spite of the
apparently ideal habitat. They have monitored bait stations with trip
cameras for many years and have yet to find one.

Estimates are that the area could support between 200 and 400 Grizzlys
(they obviously need a lot of elbow room.) There's already some
resistance from wilderness users who appreciate the relative safety of
this tract for backpackers. And of course, the nearby ranchers and
timbermen will scream.

I backpacked this area last summer and, although we saw plenty of bear
scat, it was comforting to know that a hungry Grizzly would not be
making a play for camp food. (I did have a leather belt destroyed by
a porcupine, though!)

There was also much discussion about genetic diversity and the need for
a bridge between the isolated Yellowstone population and the bears of
Alaska and S.W. Canada.

Although this is not about hunting per se, any thoughts about the
merits of introducing Grizzlys into this well known elk habitat?

Brian Adams.