ABSTRACT
Grizzlies require places where individual bears can find adequate supplies of high-energy natural foods and buffered from human activities that cause bear deaths, namely hunting, developments in the middle of prime habitat, highways and poaching. As an icon species, the grizzly represents more than merely a test for the adequacy of the Endangered Species Act. The Great Bear is America's African lion, its Komodo dragon, its Bengal tiger, and Siberian snow leopard rolled into one. Federal court rulings, including one setback for the government's Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan, suggest the latter. US District Court Judge Paul Friedman ruled in a lawsuit brought by the Fund for Animals and the National Audubon Society that the recovery plan was deeply flawed. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, comprised of members from several federal and state agencies and lead by Dr. Christopher Servheen, argues that the number of breeding female bears with cubs—a key barometer for assessing population health—up significantly over the early 1980s.
