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One of the things that makes life in the West special is our (at times uneasy) coexistence with the wildlife that makes their home here. That relationship has constantly evolved as human populations in the West grow, wildlife are pushed into smaller and smaller habitat areas, and we search for new solutions that allow both humans and wildlife to thrive. This is especially true in an age of climate crisis and shifting habitat ranges, a time when research is also rapidly improving our ability to better manage wildlife and revealing the importance of ecological connectivity.
For a case study in the complexity of human-wildlife interactions, we need look no further than that of the grizzly bear. Over recent centuries humans have relegated the bear to a fraction of its former range. However, decades of recovery efforts and legal protections have begun to do their job, and grizzly populations have expanded—driving an increase in bear-human conflicts in the West, especially in Montana and Wyoming.
A newly published collaborative news series titled Grizzlies And Us brings our relationship with grizzlies into the spotlight. The 10-part series, including 22 individual stories from local journalists, examines bear conflicts with recreationalists and ranchers, how we can continue to live with an apex predator, the scientists that work on grizzlies, how to become more bear aware as a community, the hunting of grizzlies, their landscape-spanning wanderings, Indigenous relationships to grizzlies, and much, much more.
At the end of the day, it's up to us to determine what our relationship with wildlife looks like, grizzly bears included. Wildlife will continue to do what it has always done—try to survive—but evolving science and a changing world provide us with an opportunity to reevaluate how we interact with animals and take them into account (or not) in the way we behave, manage land, and build our society.
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When we look at conservation, we’re always trying to save one thing. We’re trying to save a tree, and then we’re missing the whole forest.
