Conservationists push plan to reintroduce grizzly bears in Southwest (Flagstaff: 2013, how much)

[WilmaWildcat]

They didn't disappear "naturally." Man was already involved.

[mrshowtime3]

Bears are already showing signs of being more aggressive in other parts of the country. Sure its nothing major yet. But I dont get the benefit here. AZ already has enough things that can kill you.

[saffordpastor]

Last Grizzly in Az was killed on Escudillo mountain in I think the 30's or so, need to verify that.
I believe Aldo Leopold mentioned it in Sand County Almanac. ...again I need to check my facts.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by thinkalot

We do not need more in more places. That is not wiping them out.

If it is nature let things happen naturally. If they disappear they disappear. Man should not get involved.

Just

[kell490]

Actually if you read they want to introduce them into places where they would be far away from people they aren't going to fly in with a helicopter and release a sling and plunk a 1000 lb grizzly bear in the middle of city of Flagstaff. I doubt they would even ever put any in Arizona I did read Washington state might get some lots of talk going back to the 90's.

[wpme]

Yes, we do need more bears, the stupid people are breeding too fast because they've lost their natural predators

[lewdog_5]

Originally Posted by thinkalot

We do not need more in more places. That is not wiping them out.

If it is nature let things happen naturally. If they disappear they disappear. Man should not get involved.

You clearly do not think a lot do you? An apex predator is vital for the balance of nature and resources within an area. They are solitary creatures and do not pose a threat to humans unless humans take presence within their area. Man got involved and wiped them out of many areas. Placing them back into habitats does nothing to endanger your well being. Those being mauled by Buffalo or killed by grizzlies have gone into that animals territory, not the other way around.

[TKO]

Ranchers will never allow it. Just look at how they keep shooting the wolves in the White Mountains/Gila Wilderness & NF. And now they have a bill in the house to put control of the wolves in State hands, Wolf Transparency and Accountability Act. Maybe it's more on our side (NM) and I know it's just a minority of ranchers that break the law but it's the height of selfish behavior ruled by unwarranted fear.

I will acknowledge that grizzlies are a bit more worrisome than wolves.

[lewdog_5]

Originally Posted by TKO

Ranchers will never allow it. Just look at how they keep shooting the wolves in the White Mountains/Gila Wilderness & NF. And now they have a bill in the house to put control of the wolves in State hands, Wolf Transparency and Accountability Act. Maybe it's more on our side (NM) and I know it's just a minority of ranchers that break the law but it's the height of selfish behavior ruled by unwarranted fear.

I will acknowledge that grizzlies are a bit more worrisome than wolves.

Wolves are worse because they eat mostly meat. Bears actually eat more plants than meat, an estimate of 75-85% of their calories from plants. Most of their meat comes from fish or meat they steal from other animals. They also don't hunt in a pack to increase their kill chances with ranch animals.

Having lived in Montana, bear attacks on ranch land are much less than that of wolves and actually fairly rare.

[nezlie]

Originally Posted by thinkalot

We do not need more in more places. That is not wiping them out.

If it is nature let things happen naturally. If they disappear they disappear. Man should not get involved.

Man already got involved and wiped them out of their native range which included the southwest, the Great Plains, and even portions of Mexico. That's why they became extirpated there.

This, from the OP's article, is typical though.... At least one critic called the plan a waste of taxpayer dollars for a proposal that is “playing God.”

I guess the people that hunted them out of existence weren't playing God. Isn't it funny how people like to use 'God' to justify whatever they feel like doing or they agree with?

Here's the lowdown on how 'God' decided to do away with them in most of their range..

The decline of grizzly bears started in earnest about 1850, at the time of first contact with significant numbers of spreading European settlers. The widespread extirpation of grizzly bears was rapid. Grizzly bears disappeared from about 95% of their former range in the contiguous United States by 1920 - within a mere 70 years. By 1970, grizzly bears remained in only about 2% of their former range, at about only 1% of their former numbers. The cause of this catastrophic decline is no mystery. Grizzly bears were extirpated because humans - primarily European settlers - killed them. However, extirpations were less rapid where grizzly bears lived in the mountains, and especially where they used foods that kept them at high elevations, out of harms way.

USGS Colorado Plateau Research Station: Grizzly Bears