He wants the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee to do more to spread the word about the proper way to act around the huge bruins.
“The belief that we can interact with bears is stronger than ever,” said Bartlebaugh of the Missoula-based Center for Wildlife Information. “There's a misperception of what is and what isn't OK.”
“Most of the 15 million viewers probably didn't know that is inappropriate,” he said.
Not everyone is that gullible. Bartlebaugh showed the film clip to a class of teenagers and then asked them to give him a written response. It didn't take them long.
Their reply: “If you're stupid enough to let a grizzly bear lick your hand, then use the hand you don't write with.”
Bartlebaugh brought his message to the IGBC on Wednesday morning, saying the organization needs to do more to keep people and bears at arm's length.
The committee - created in 1983 to lead the recovery of grizzly bear populations in the lower 48 states - held its winter meeting in Missoula this week.
Committee members agreed there's a void of good fact-based scientific information on grizzlies and decided to take a hard look at what they could do.
“The public will take notice of what we say or don't say,” said Chris Servheen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator. “We underestimate the potential of the public to take a bad message and run with it.”
The committee also had plenty of good news to discuss.
Just a few weeks ago, several committee members attended a press conference in Washington, D.C., announcing a proposal to remove the Yellowstone grizzly population from the federal list of threatened and endangered species.
“It was a very gratifying experience,” said Steve Huffaker of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Once the rule is finalized, Huffaker said, the committee will be able to focus its efforts on other grizzly bear populations, many of which are struggling.
The new rule provides a number of safeguards, including limits on mortality and changes in habitat, to ensure the long-term future of the Yellowstone grizzly, Servheen said. If the bears do begin to slip, anyone can ask for a status review, which could result in the bears being relisted, he said.
“We have the ability to relist within a couple of weeks,” he said.
The success in Yellowstone will provide incentive and encouragement to people working with other grizzly bear populations and other endangered species, Servheen said.
“This shows that by working together and cooperatively, we can make a difference,” he said. “It goes beyond grizzly bears. This shows that we can fix a problem.”
Servheen said he knows some groups are distrustful of the state agencies that may soon take over management duties of the Yellowstone grizzly population.
“They think that they're hostile to everything that has teeth,” he said. “There's a kind of hysteria out there that's unwarranted. I believe that if the state signs something, they're going to do it.”
“I tell people that if they don't trust people, that's not an ESA issue,” Servheen said. “That goes beyond something that we can address.”
People are interested in the proposed rule.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has already received 50,000 comments on the proposed rule, and Servheen expects that number will double by the time the comment period closes Feb. 17.
“A lot of them are mindless form letters,” he said.
The agency will sift through the torrent and pick out the major issues of concern. After analyzing those concerns, Servheen said, the agency will decide whether to make changes to the rule before submitting it for a final review in Washington.
That part of the process can take some time. Servheen said the proposed rule was submitted in June and it took until November for it to be finalized.
Servheen said he's hoping the final rule will be completed by the end of 2006.
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