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.
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The push to reintroduce southern sea otters to greater sections of the California and Oregon coast is getting a big boost from a $1.56 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, part of the America the Beautiful Challenge program.
Over the next three years, tribes and nonprofit partners will build public awareness of the need to expand sea otters' range.
Robert Kentta, elected member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians' tribal council and board member of the Elakha Alliance, said his group is focused on helping sea otters thrive.
"Sea otters are an ultra-keystone species because they don't just maintain the habitat of the near shore ecosystem, they create that kelp forest habitat, which leads to abundance and diversity," Kentta outlined. "That's always been recognized by our tribal stories."
The animals once ranged along the entire west coast up to central Oregon but were decimated by the fur trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Now they are mainly hemmed in by white sharks between Santa Barbara and San Francisco.
Advocates are encouraging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to launch a public scoping project in the next few years to support a resurgence of sea otters in Northern California and Oregon, possibly with donor animals from the northern sea otter populations in Washington and points north.
Andy Johnson, California representative and sea otter program lead for Defenders of Wildlife, said since sea otters eat shellfish, any reintroduction program will need to address the concerns of the shellfishing community.
"We're already working on some meetings with the fishing community, trying to get to a point where we all understand that the impacts to them will probably be minimal," Johnson asserted. "Maybe they don't need to oppose it, just on principle."
When the southern sea otter was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1977, there were only around one thousand animals left, down from a historical population of 16-thousand.
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A critical fish species in the Chesapeake Bay, the Atlantic menhaden, could be declining rapidly.
Or its numbers could be growing.
There is no data on Atlantic menhaden populations in the Bay, and fishing and conservation groups say that's the problem.
A bill in the Virginia General Assembly looks to shed light on menhaden populations in the Chesapeake.
Steve Atkinson, chairman of the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association, said Atlantic menhaden is a keystone species and may be overfished in the Chesapeake Bay.
"They're extremely important as a forage fish because they feed fish, like our iconic striped bass, bluefish and trout," Atkinson explained. "But they also feed mammals and also seabirds, like our iconic osprey. For years, there's been concern that they are being overfished in the Chesapeake Bay."
The bill would provide $3 million for the study of menhaden populations in the Chesapeake Bay. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science has developed one study but Atkinson noted funding for the research has been elusive.
Tyler Nonn, owner and operator of Tidewater Charters, takes people fishing on the Bay every day. He said his business relies on healthy Atlantic menhaden populations. He pointed out there are times even the best commercial fishermen are unable to catch adult menhaden.
"Even those guys have trouble getting them," Nonn observed. "The consistency is not there. You know, we'll have a couple years where it'll be good. A lot of that has to do with environmental factors, but taking hundreds of thousands of pounds of them out of the Bay does not help the cause."
Studies indicate about 30% of the striped bass diet is Atlantic menhaden.
Atkinson emphasized oftentimes, their advocacy faces circular reasoning, when if there is no evidence of shrinking Menhaden populations, why fund a study? But he argued the health of the species is worth checking.
"When we raise these issues, the industry usually comes back and their comment is the same, which is, 'There's no science to support your concern,'" Atkinson noted. "We need to get additional science to show them once and for all whether or not there's a problem with menhaden in the Bay."
Atlantic menhaden are not considered overfished across the entire Atlantic coast, but local depletion may be threatening Chesapeake Bay populations.
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It's been 30 years since wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park, a move that remains controversial today - as Colorado's livestock industry pushes to keep the apex predator's footprint from expanding.
Katie Schneider - the Colorado wolf representative with Defenders of Wildlife - said the Yellowstone reintroduction is one of America's most powerful conservation success stories, and has inspired other states to consider bringing back wildlife killed by Europeans expanding westward.
"Wolves still only inhabit around 10% of their former range in the Lower 48, so our work is not done yet," said Schneider. "And the reintroduction of wolves to the Southern Rockies here in Colorado is a really exciting next step in that recovery process, building on what we've learned in Yellowstone."
After voters approved reintroduction in 2020, Colorado Parks and Wildlife released 10 wolves in Grand and Summit counties in 2023 - despite objections raised by livestock producers worried that the carnivore would get their product before it reached the slaughterhouse.
Last week, the agency rejected a petition by producers to block the release of an additional 15 wolves this month.
Colorado pays producers who lose livestock to wolves, but Schneider said lessons learned in Yellowstone show that it's possible for wolves and people to coexist.
She noted that Defenders has been advancing proven conflict mitigation tactics in Colorado - including range riders, fencing, and hazing - since 2019.
"There are currently 11 different programs offered in Colorado by NGOs and universities and state and federal agencies, to assist livestock producers in preventing conflict," said Schneider. "And nearly every operation that has worked to implement these measures had no losses."
Wolves are very resilient. Schneider said just 14 were released in Yellowstone in 1995, and there are now at least a dozen packs inside the park.
She said the reintroduction has also been a powerful economic driver, bringing $35 million each year to communities surrounding the park.
"And we know up there, the return of wolves sparked a huge boost in their local tourism industry," said Schneider. "People from around the world come to watch just wolves in Yellowstone National Park."
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