Knowledge to coexist: For most part, industry succeeds in informing people about bruins. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.
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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.
Comments
I generally agree with this. The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (Glacier NP, Bob Marshall Wilderness, Whitefish Range, Mission Mountains, etc.) are terrific grizzly habitat and human caused deaths have been kept under control pretty well despite some notorious poaching incidents, continual deaths on the railroad tracks on the southern boundary of Glacier NP, explosive development of Flathead Valley and more.
Regarding the helter skelter sprawling development of the Bitterroot Valley, few things have made me angrier over the years. They certainly ruined a beautiful and productive valley — a real triumph of conservative, fundamentalist property rights individualism.
Jay–what do you think about the ignorant people featured in this article putting so much emphasis on the importance of protecting bear habitat, and not feeding bears?
One ignorant dolt representing the Center For Wildlife Information places a huge emphasis on the importance of not feeding bears. Some clodhopper with the US Fish & Willdife Service stresses the need to protect bear habitat.
Jay, when I said it’s all about protecting habitat, not feeding bears, and not forcing confrontations by encroaching on the personal space of grizzlies, you said I was ignorant. What’s it all about? Do tell us.
Read Andrea Peacock’s essay in Counterpunch dated August 27, entitled”How Many Biologists does it Take to Count a Dead Bear?” It is interesting information about Louisa Wilcox from NRDC and Chris Servheen and his “philosophy” on saving the grizzly from extinction.
For every dime state and federal agencies spend to educate the public on how to live with grizzlies, they spend $10 doing the “research” needed to get grizzlies delisted. They want to delist grizzlies so they can be hunted, so they can log, mine, etc. instead of protecting griz habitat. And U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Coordinator Chris Servheen has the gall to say habitat is the most important issue.