Grizzly management meeting set for Oct. 29 in Bozeman

The Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee (YES) of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) will hold its fall meeting in Bozeman, Montana on October 29, 2014 and invites the public to attend. Often the YES Meetings are spread over two days, but this year the meeting has consolidated to one day.

The meeting will start at 1:00 PM and will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn of Bozeman.  The hotel is located at 2023 Commerce Way. The public is welcome to attend all sessions and time for public comments will be included before the meeting is scheduled to end at 5:00 p.m., according to a statement released by the committee.

The meeting will be conducted by Vice-Chair Mary Erickson, Forest Supervisor of the Custer/Gallatin National Forest, due to work conflicts for the Chair Brian Nesvik, Wildlife Division Chief for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

The Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bear recovery area includes all of Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks, as well as portions of northwest Wyoming, eastern Idaho, and southwest Montana. Other federal lands include the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests (NF), The Bridger-Teton NF, Caribou-Targhee NF, and the Custer, Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests. Federally-managed lands make up 97.9 percent of the recovery area’s 9,209 square miles.

A multiagency organization charged with recovery of the grizzly in the Yellowstone ecosystem, YES is part of the IGBC, which is responsible for grizzly bear recovery in the contiguous United States and adjoining Canadian Provinces.  YES is made up of federal, state, county, and tribal agency partners.

Individuals requiring special assistance can contact Gregg Losinski at [email protected] or through the Idaho Relay Service at 1-800-377-3529 (TDD). A copy of the meeting agenda is posted at the YES portion of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee website at www.igbconline.org.  Minutes from past IGBC Meetings and all the recovery subcommittees can also be found there as well.

The IGBC annual winter meeting has been scheduled for December 9 – 10 at the Holiday Inn Downtown Missoula, Missoula, Montana. The spring YES Meeting will be held in Cody, Wyoming.  Dates & specific location have not been set for that meeting yet.