Not a bad year for grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, unlike the Greater Yellowstone-
Thirteen grizzlies were known to have died, eleven were human caused. Is it significant that the grizzly in the NCDE is still listed as a “threatened species” and the Greater Yellowstone population has been delisted?
Graphical display of 2008 NCDE grizzly mortality. (pdf file)
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Yellowstone mortality includes both known and unknown/probable deaths. If I recall, the formula used is that for every known death, there are two unknown. The NCDE does not include unknown/probable deaths. The chart on p.6 that shows mortality for 28 years (1980-2008) “does not include uncertain mortalities.
Given the low number of bears killed in defense of life and property, the IGBC should spend less time and money trying to convince hunters to buy bear spray, and more time on the important issues.