US Person"s detractors say "he is bad for business" probably because he is an international advocate for wildlife conservation and environmental protection. For example he has long advocated expansion of the nation's first national park. One good reason for this is the increase in grizzly bears and bison that live in the region. An estimated 2,000 now live in the Norther Rockies , roaming well beyond the beyond both Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks' boundaries. A few have even wandered into downtown Cody, Wyoming. 50,000 bears lived in the West into the mid-1800s Bear advocates say we can learn to co-exist with the apex predator, often weighing over 500 lbs, as it makes a return to its former range. [see chart]
Even with their return, there have been relatively few human fatalities. Since 1992 there have been at least 165 recorded injuries to humans, including ten fatalities. According to experts, grizzlies go out of their way to avoid people. Yellowstone Park averages just one attack per year--its lowest on record per capita--thanks to educational efforts, bear-proof garbage bins and bear spray. That does not mean that grizzlies can be a pain. They break into cars and buildings in their relentless search for food, while taking down cows, sheep, and pet dogs. Calls to resume hunting to control them have increased. Hunting seasons established in Wyoming and Idaho were overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but Montana and Wyoming are again petitioning to remove them from the Endangered Species list. The Fish & Wildlife Service has said it is reviewing their status in the lower48 with a decision to be made in January. The biggest conflicts occur in areas newly reclaimed by the bears that are now filled with humans. The intelligent beasts have figured out that humans and their habitations are a good source of edibles.
Electric fences have gone up in the Bighorn Basin, a hot spot for bears. Fence now surrounds the Cody municipal landfill and apple orchards. Sweet cornfields are next. A local ranchers told the Wall Street Journal that he has lost about 2% of his newborn calfs to the predators. Still visitors are thrilled to see the bears at close range, an experience made possible by federal protection.