Protecting grizzlies could close campgrounds, hunting areas

Protecting grizzly bears across a 4,560-square-mile swath of the Selkirk and Cabinet mountains will require closing hundreds of miles of backcountry roads used by hunters and huckleberry pickers, the Forest Service says. Grizzlies need secure areas to avoid contact with people, according to a new agency report. Despite two-inch claws and a fierce reputation – grizzlies’ Latin name is Ursus actos horribilis, or “bear horrible” – bears are typically the losers during encounters with humans. Since 1982, people have killed 87 grizzlies in two grizzly bear recovery zones in the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak mountains of northeastern Washington, Idaho and Western Montana. Seventy percent of the human-caused deaths occurred near roads. Poaching, or mistaking a grizzly for a black bear, were two frequent reasons grizzlies were shot and killed on Forest Service lands. Self-defense by hunters was also a factor, particularly during elk season. Over the past decade, environmental groups brought a series of lawsuits against the Forest Service, arguing that the agency needed to do more to keep people and bears apart by restricting motorized access to prime habitat areas. The litigation triggered forest plan revisions on the Idaho Panhandle, Kootenai and Lolo national forests...Spokesman Review