The leader of the group tasked with overseeing grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) says the population may be 40 to 45 percent higher than current, more conservative estimates.
According to a report in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Frank van Manen, study leader of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, said an alteration in the population estimate equation currently used would raise the overall number from the current 727 to about 1,000.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation agrees with professional wildlife managers that the grizzly bear population in the GYE meets all recovery criteria and should be delisted and managed by state wildlife agencies.
(Photo source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)