Page 40 - Wyoming's Grizzly Harvest - The Story the State Wants to Bury with the Bears

Wyoming’s Grizzly Harvest It would appear that this, or close to it, is what 760 did. A hazardous undertaking for a sub-adult grizzly in unfamiliar country, if what it actually sought was “human structures and human food sources.” Thompson describes Mormon Creek as “among the most remote sites in the ecosystem accessible by road,” and adds, “It’s a very secure area.” Cody-area recreationists familiar with the North Fork might take issue with that, as the access to it invalidates it as remote, and the proximity to “human structures and human food sources” makes it a less than ideal choice for the relocation of a bear marked as habituated. “There’s no advantage to us setting up an animal for failure,” Thompson insisted, in response to those who have questioned why 760 wasn’t transferred to territory on the periphery of his range. “This is all part of our job, and this is where our expertise and experience comes into play,” he said. The “expertise” card should have been a hard one to play, being as Thompson’s trusted “bear management specialist” for Clark had just been sentenced to pay $10,000 for his inability to distinguish a grizzly from a black bear and separate his finger from the trigger. Oblivious or contemptuous, the sum and the parts equates to the whole. 40