The 1993 Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan estimates that a recovered population in the CYE would consist of a 

 minimum of 100 individual grizzly bears. Potential isolation from grizzly bears in the Canada portion of 

 the greater CYE has however been identified as a potential threat to grizzly bears in the U.S. portion of 

 the ecosystem. Conditions in Canada and along the international boundary currently allow movement of 

 grizzly bears between Canada and the Yaak portion of the CYE, but grizzly bear habitat is being 

 impacted by highways and associated development in Canada. Additionally, U.S. Highway 2 bisects the 

 ecosystem between the Yaak and Cabinet Mountains portions. To date, there has been no documented 

 movement of grizzly bears across Highway 2 between the Yaak and Cabinet Mountains. Consequently, 

 the combination of highway, river, railroad, associated development, and small population size appears 

 to be a substantive barrier to movement of grizzly bears in the ecosystem. 



Alternative 1. Continue Existing Program 



FWP evaluated continuing to implement the existing programs and management direction. As with any 

 program, there have been many changes since the FWP 1986 Programmatic EIS for this area. Many of 

 these changes have benefited the grizzly population. Efforts from other agencies have certainly enhanced 

 our understanding of grizzly bears and their use of the area however, they have not resulted in 

 significant recovery to date. Because the irutial population was so low and funding limited, progress 

 towards recovery of this portion of the ecosystem has been limited and could be easily reversed. 



Benefits 



• Recovery programs have been implemented in conjunction with the citizen's group established to 

 assist with the augmentation test and ongoing grizzly augmentation for the ecosystem. Based on 

 changes in land management and public understanding, support for recovery has increased in some 

 circles in the last two decades. There is some evidence of additional bears, notably in the Yaak area, 

 and because recovery occurs slowly, the public may more readily support our efforts. 



• Land changes have occurred that benefit grizzlies in the area. 



Challenges 



• Recovery in this ecosystem has been slow and tenuous. Even slight changes in mortality levels can 

 dramatically impact the success of recovery. 



• The initial augmentation was only to test the technique and was not intended to achieve recovery. 



• Because the population levels are low in the Cabinet- Yaak and survival of each individual animal is 

 critical, constraints on land use and acHvities may be higher than necessary if the population was 

 more abundant. 



• Low numbers of bears also limits flexibility for dealing with conflict situations between people and 

 bears. 



• Because there has been limited success for two or more decades, the public may feel that full recovery 

 is not possible and efforts should cease. 



• There will be ongoing pressure for additional habitat and land management constraints to support 

 the existing small population. 



Alternative 2. Accelerated Recoverif- FWPs preferred alternative 



This alternative evaluated accelerated recovery in the Cabinet- Yaak through more rapid augmentation 

 and reduced human-use mortality of the population. Based on data assembled for the 1986 State Grizzly 

 Bear Management Plan, sufficient habitat exists to support at least 90-120 bears in the Cabinet-Yaak area. 



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