Experts disagree on why grizzlies are ranging further afield

It’s undisputed that the number of conflicts between grizzly bears and people are on the rise in northwest Wyoming, with bears roaming further and further from their core habitat in and around Yellowstone National Park. But why the bears are spreading out of the so-called “demographic monitoring area,” or DMA, is a matter of debate. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says the increased conflicts are a sign that the DMA is full and that bears are being pushed out into less desirable areas — such as the sow and two cubs that reached Byron last year. “The DMA was identified as a large enough tract of contiguous habitat to maintain [Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem] grizzly bears in perpetuity,” Brian Nesvik, director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, told a congressional committee discussing proposed legislation called the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act earlier this month. “However, because the core of the population has nearly achieved density dependence, grizzly bear distribution has extended far beyond suitable habitats.” Some scientists and bear advocates, however, don’t see it that way. Barrie K. Gilbert, a conservation ecologist and emeritus faculty at Utah State University, told a House committee that the issue isn’t that the grizzly population is growing. Instead, he said grizzlies are expanding their territory due to a lack of food inside the suitable habitat set aside in the DMA...MORE