Page 12 - Wyoming's Grizzly Harvest - The Story the State Wants to Bury with the Bears

Wyoming’s Grizzly Harvest amendment is one of many legislative efforts I will continue to pursue until Wyoming’s wolf management plan is protected and fully implemented,” said Barrasso, his promise on wolves a warning for the grizzly. Among other provisions, if either is enacted, “sportsmen” will be able to import a limited number of polar bear carcasses and ivory from African elephants, both of which demonstrate just how out of touch with the overriding sentiment of the American people both Houses are. That inference can also be applied to WGFD Director Scott Talbott, as that is, after all, his kind of federal legislation. Every month, a smiling Talbott welcomes readers to Wyoming Wildlife magazine, WGFD’s propaganda vehicle to promote Governor Mead’s wildlife agenda. In his introductory columns, Talbott attempts to invoke a Garrison Keillor-esque feel to “harvesting” Wyoming’s wildlife, a kind of Prairie Home Companion with steaming entrails. Among a catalog of distortions, Talbott is on the record as stating that grizzly bear trophy hunters will help “promote coexistence, management of populations and reduce conflicts between bears and humans,” and has gone so far as to claim that trophy hunters are responsible for the recovery of endangered species. Talbott attempts to convince us that WGFD is operated by good ol’ friendly pokes who 12