JACKSON, Wyo. -- As Grand Teton National Park prepares to cull mountain goats to protect bighorn sheep populations from disease, conservationists are sounding the alarm about the potential harm to endangered grizzly bears if hunters are sent in to do the job.

Kristin Combs, executive director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, has sent a letter urging park officials to think twice before sending hunters deep into undisturbed bear country as bears are out feasting before hibernation.

"It just seems like the chance for an encounter with bears is pretty high here," Combs said. "And so, we're concerned that some bears might be injured or even killed during this process, and just want to make sure that the park is doing everything possible in their power to reduce the risk."

Wyoming Game and Fish condemned the park's initial plans to cull goats using aerial sharpshooters, arguing the move would waste meat. The agency also said not tapping hunters to harvest goats would set a dangerous precedent.

Grand Teton National Park officials say hunting will not put grizzlies at risk, noting the conservation of native species is a priority of the National Park Service.

If hunting does go forward, Combs said it's important that volunteers travel in groups of three or more to better alert bears and avoid conflict. She also pointed to studies showing bear spray is far more effective than bullets in preventing injury or death to bears and people.

"Making sure that every single skilled volunteer that's out there has bear spray. If any bears are suspected to be in the area, they need to have that bear spray out and ready rather than their gun in their hand," she said.

Mountain goats are not historical residents of Grand Teton National Park. They likely migrated there after being reintroduced in the Snake River range in the 1970s. The park's last remaining bighorn sheep are currently healthy, but they are highly susceptible to contracting diseases from mountain goats that scientists fear could wipe out the herd.

Nine conservation groups are calling on wildlife agencies in Wyoming and Idaho to require black bear hunters to take a bear identification course before getting a hunting license.

Kristin Combs, executive director of the group Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, said at least 14 Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears were killed between 2010 and 2022 because of mistaken identity, and added the actual number is likely much higher.

"There are also 113 cases of mortalities still under investigation," Combs pointed out. "Seventy-one percent of those cases actually are in Wyoming. There's likely a higher mortality through mistaken identity."

Last month, a man shot a 530-pound grizzly bear just outside Yellowstone National Park, claiming he thought it was a black bear. Wyoming Game and Fish said it is reviewing the proposal, but recent moves by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon suggests the state is moving in the opposite direction. Gordon has called for restoring trophy hunting, and recently filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for taking too long to remove Endangered Species Act protections for all grizzlies in the state.

Combs noted relying on color alone to identify a black bear is problematic because grizzlies and black bears often display multiple colors. She pointed to Montana's bear identification course where hunters learn to spot key differences. For example, grizzly bears have smaller, more rounded ears that are fuzzier than the ears of black bears, which seem larger in proportion to head size, longer, more erect, and pointed.

"And a grizzly bear, it's going to have a hump behind its head, which is a mass of muscles they use for tearing open carcasses and logs," Combs emphasized. "It's going to have more of a disc shaped profile on its nose. Black bears usually have just a very straight down profile."

Combs believes the loss of even a single grizzly is a threat to the species' full recovery, especially for bears trying to connect with more genetically diverse populations outside Yellowstone. She added it is ultimately up to Wyoming Game and Fish and other state agencies to protect the iconic species people from all over the world travel to see in the wild.

"I think it really just all goes back to a hunter knowing their target before they shoot," Combs stressed. "Pulling the trigger on a gun, it's a serious act. If you're not 100% certain about what is at the other end of that barrel, you just shouldn't take the shot."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife and National Forest Services are headed back to the drawing board after a federal appeals court ruled that the authorization to kill up to 72 grizzly bears, including females, on public lands near Yellowstone National Park violated federal law.

Andrea Zaccardi - carnivore conservation program legal director with the Center for Biological Diversity - said grizzlies have one of the lowest reproduction rates of all mammals, and the survival of females is critical for the bears' recovery.

"The removal of even a few female grizzly bears can significantly impact the health of the population," said Zaccardi. "It takes a female grizzly bear ten years to replace herself in the wild."

The agencies argued that removing 72 bears would be consistent with population goals for the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Conservationists are urging the Forest Service to order ranchers to use nonlethal options to avoid conflicts - including removing all livestock carcasses and consistently using range riders to monitor herds - and stop killing female bears, while they reconsider their analysis.

A Forest Service spokesperson deferred to Fish and Wildlife's authority to manage grizzlies. When asked to comment, Fish and Wildlife declined.

Before being hunted to the brink of extinction, some 50,000 grizzlies roamed the lower 48 states. Today there are fewer than two thousand.

Zaccardi said the Fish and Wildlife Service's own data acknowledges the importance of female grizzlies to the health of populations.

"In the past, (the agencies) have generally considered a limit on how many female grizzly bears can be killed in the Upper Green project area," said Zaccardi. "This is one of the first times that they completely ignored that aspect."

People come to Wyoming from all over the world for the opportunity to see a grizzly bear in the wild. Zaccardi pointed out that there are currently just five isolated populations in the lower 48.

"And Yellowstone is one of the best places to see them," said Zaccardi. "So the local economies rely very heavily on the tourism industry that support the local businesses and the towns that surround Yellowstone National Park."




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Nevadans will have the opportunity to learn more and weigh in on a proposed public lands rule that shifts the Bureau of Land Management's focus to prioritize wildlife conservation and protecting cultural resources. Tomorrow, the B-L-M invites the public to an in-person meeting
in Reno to better understand the proposal.

Russell Kuhlman, Executive Director for the Nevada Wildlife Federation, said the measure would help the agency put conservation efforts "on par and act as a balance," with recreational and commercial uses of public lands such as grazing, energy development and camping.

"The land is not built for continuous extraction without some conservation in order to make it sustainable, and what this conservation ruling does is hopefully take a big step in that direction," he said.

Kuhlman contended the B-L-M is "getting pulled in a lot of different directions because of the scope of work they're required to do." He says the proposed rule could "open the door," he said, for conservation groups to help out potentially underfunded and understaffed B-L-M offices, and aid in habitat rehabilitation.

Kuhlman added the proposed rule adds "another tool box within the conservation community," and takes what he calls a "proactive, boots on the ground approach," to help prevent further habitat degradation. The agency says if they receive an application for a conservation lease that conflicts with an existing grazing permit or lease, that conservation lease would not be approved. Kuhlman said the proposal
aims to level the playing field for the various uses taking place on public lands.

"There are some questions out there from different stakeholders and what they're concerned about is, is this conservation ruling going to be a tool to eliminate grazing or prevent energy resource development from happening on public lands. And that is not the case. "

Kuhlman says he is "excited" about the conservation ruling. He says it could help mitigate the degradation the sagebrush sea is experiencing. According to the agency roughly one-point-three million acres of sagebrush are degraded annually. In addition to tomorrow's meeting, the B-L-M will also hold a virtual meeting on the proposal on Monday, June 5th.