Grizzly encounter shows need for state management

by John Malmberg, Cody Enterprise

A grizzly bear that wandered into a residential area east of Cody last week was trapped and euthanized.

The wayward grizzly was seen very near the home of a family with six young children. We are grateful none of those children encountered the bear.

No one can know for certain, but if management of grizzly bears had been turned over to the state of Wyoming perhaps the bear would not have invaded private property.

The bear might have been killed by a hunter, but most likely would not have been outside the area deemed suitable for grizzlies, which led to its ignoble capture and death.

Some bears are simply problem bears. Others learn behavior by never developing a fear of humans.

The decision to euthanize was made by a team of state large-carnivore specialists in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that oversees animals protected by the Endangered Species Act.

Each problem grizzly is handled on a case-by-case basis.

Relocating this grizzly to Dubois or Yellowstone Park or some other area would not have solved the problem.

This was a grizzly that had developed bad habits, had no fear of humans and had learned where to get an easy meal.

We believe the decision to kill the bear was ultimately and unfortunately the right decision.

Last fall, two Northwest College students encountered a grizzly on the Bobcat-Houlihan trail. Both survived severe injuries. We hope nothing like that ever happens again.

In February of this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the agency is again considering surrendering management of the grizzly bears to the states.

That needs to happen.

Wyoming has pledged to maintain a target population of at least 932 bears and the rest would be managed by hunting.

The grizzly bear is a unique and wonderful element of nature that sets Wyoming apart, but it needs to be managed.After two earlier attempts at delisting the grizzly bear, we hope science and reason prevail and “the third time is a charm.”