Grizzly Bear Management and Interagency Grizzly Bear Guidelines

Grizzly bears and black bears that frequent roads, campgrounds, and other developed areas are likely to be considered problem bears by managers and are in jeopardy of being "removed" from the population.

Return To Home Page--The American Grizzly Bear

Return To Carnivora - Grizzly Bears

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee has approved the application of the guidelines for situations occurring on National Forest System, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park System lands in grizzly bear ecosystems in the states of Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming.  The following information is taken from the official document.

Guidelines for Determining Grizzly Bear Nuisance Status

Here is some of the language from the guidelines to determine the control action to be taken for a number of situations involving conflicts with humans:

"These guidelines apply to the Management Situation Areas defined in Interagency Grizzly Bear Guidelines. In Management Situation Areas 1 and 2, grizzlies must be determined to be a nuisance by specific criteria before they can be controlled.  In Situation Areas 3 and 5, any grizzly involved in a grizzly-human conflict situation is considered a nuisance and will be controlled.  Control must be compatible with Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan objectives for limiting man--caused grizzly mortality and with Federal and State laws and regulations."

Five Grizzly Bear Management Situations are defined on the basis of grizzly bear population and habitat for the particular area. For example:

Management Situation 1:

"Population and habitat conditions.  The area contains grizzly population centers (areas key to the the grizzly where seasonal or year-long grizzly activity, under natural, free-ranging conditions is common) and habitat components needed for the survival and recovery of the species or a segment of its population. The probability is very great that major Federal activities or programs may affect (have direct or indirect relationships to the conservation and recovery of) the grizzly."

Management Situation 3:

"Population and habitat conditions.  Grizzly presence is possible but infrequent. Developments, such as campgrounds, resorts or other high human use associated facilities, and human presence result in conditions which make grizzly presence untenable for humans and/or grizzlies.  There is a high probability that major Federal activities or programs may affect the species' conservation and recovery."

"A grizzly bear may be determined to be a nuisance if any or all of the following conditions apply:

Condition A.  The bear causes significant depredation to lawfully present livestock or uses unnatural food materials (human and livestock foods, garbage, home gardens, livestock carrion, and game meat in possession of man) which have been reasonably secured from the bear resulting in conditioning of the bear or significant loss of property.

Condition B.  The bear has had an encounter with people resulting in a substantial human injury or loss of human life.  The bear has displayed aggressive (not defensive) behavior toward humans which constitutes a demonstrable immediate or potential threat to human safety and/or a minor human injury resulted from a human/bear encounter.

Condition C.  The bear has had an encounter with people resulting in a substantial human injury or loss of human life."

The Guidelines do allow for considerations of circumstances for each "Condition" in making a determination of whether or not the grizzly should be considered a nuisance, such as whether the grizzly acted defensively or aggressively during an encounter.

The following table has been taken from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Guidelines and is used as a tool to determine how many nuisance offenses a grizzly is allowed before the sentence is removal from the population (in most cases removal means the bear is destroyed).

(See Footnotes)

*REL -- RELOCATE **REM -- REMOVE FROM POPULATION ***RLS -- RELEASE ON SITE

(Nuisance grizzlies that are sick or injured beyond a point

where natural recovery is likely will be removed.)

Cub -- Young of the Year

Yearling -- 12 to 24 months old

Subadult -- 11 24 to 48 months old

Young -- Cub, yearling, or subadult accompanying mother

Old -- Indicates advanced age and deteriorated physical state, indicators are tooth wear and physical appearance