Dear editor:

It seems that we have reached that time of year where once again our ecologically illiterate political leaders have ventured forth from their dens to loudly proclaim that the Yellowstone grizzly population has reached such fearsome numbers that none of us are any longer safe and the bear must be removed from Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections.

A reasonably secure grizzly population must have both the size and occupied contiguous habitat to be able to maintain themselves in the face of the genetic, demographic, environmental and catastrophic uncertainties that constitute life in the natural world.

The Yellowstone grizzly does not currently meet these parameters. These bears are living on an island that is known as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This island is not connected to any other grizzly population. If we had 5,000 bears living on this island they would still be a threatened species. Recovery of the bear is not just about a simple number. Recovery and removal of the Yellowstone grizzly from the ESA protections is driven by secure occupied contiguous habitat that has protected linkage zones that assures connectivity to other bear populations such as the Northern Continental Grizzly Population and future populations in the vast Central Idaho Wildlands.

It is possible, even likely, that given the ever increasing threats to bear habitats from such things as deteriorating habitat quality due to long term climate change  and explosive human population and concurrent development, that the bear will remain threatened for the indefinite future. However, we can be absolutely certain that as long as the Yellowstone grizzly is restricted to this island that they are currently on, they will be a threatened species and must remain under the protections of the ESA.

Chuck Neal

Cody