Not sure if this will work as I copied it from a pdf formatted letter that was sent to me.
Yellowstone Country Bear Hunters Association
255 Upland Court Cody, WY 82414
To Whom It May Concern, My name is Joe Kondelis and I am the founder of the Yellowstone Country Bear Hunter's Association. The reason I am sending this letter to you is to notify you of our newly founded non-profit organization. We are very grass roots right now and we started this Non-Profit out of a necessity.
There is very little support for the Bear hunter or Black bears in general in the western states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. Many of our states resources budgeted for wildlife go into deer, elk, wolf, moose and the grizzly bear. I and many other ardent hunters live right on the edge of Yellowstone Park and are on forefront of the grizzly bear/wolf situation; the problems have now become a fact of life around these states and will continue to be unless something is done. We feel the increase in population of a large predator could adversely affect black bear populations and deter state and federal focus from a continued study and understanding on the black bear and black bear hunting opportunities. In these times it is essential to study and better understand the black bear and its habitat, more importantly how the black bear can co-exist with a much larger predator in the grizzly bear.
I recently read an article recently in bear hunting magazine giving Black Bear population estimates in all the States in the US. Wyoming could not give an estimate. I was frustrated to say the least, We have countless resources being expended on the grizzly bear whether it be a state organization or the 3 state encompassing Grizzly Bear Interagency Study Team funded by the much larger USGS. The lack of proper management through hunting season is also costing our states thousands of dollars through agricultural and livestock reimbursement, increasing needs for trapping and relocating is also costing our states thousands of dollars. State agencies are forced to put more people on staff to manage conflicts and relocations costing time and money. This increase has to come at the cost of other species and agencies in the state. Hum an/grizzly bear conflicts are increasing dramatically.
The following has been pulled from an October 27th article in the Cody Enterprise by By Darian Dudrick:
Human-grizzly bear conflicts in Wyoming in 2010 could be at their highest level ever.
"I'm guessing this is going to be one of our highest years (at least) since we started tracking them in 1989," said Mark Bruscino, Wyoming Game and Fish bear management program supervisor. Bruscino was scheduled to present the state's most current human-grizzly conflict data Wednesday at the Yellowstone Area Grizzly Bear Managers meeting in Bozeman, Mont.
He said there have been 251 conflicts to date this year, which could be a record in Wyoming. "Conflicts" aren't defined only as face-to-face encounters. They also include situations such as grizzlies damaging property and killing livestock.
There have been two deaths this year from grizzly bear attacks in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, including the first in 25 years, Bruscino said. (In general, the GYE is the area between Bozeman to the north, Cody to the east, Afton to the south and
Idaho Falls, Idaho, to the west.) In addition, Bruscino said there have been four confirmed people injured by grizzlies in Wyoming in 2010, twice as many as the average of about two injuries per year during the past 10 years.
In 2010, there's an estimated 600 grizzly bears in the GYE, about 50 percent of which reside in Wyoming outside of Yellowstone Park, Bruscino said. The grizzly bear population has increased 4-7 percent a year during the last 20 years, he added.
"That's a good, positive outlook for the Yellowstone grizzly bear," Bruscino said.
But what has separated 2010 from past years is that it's been a "poor natural food year for bears," Bruscino said.
A mild winter with few winter-killed carcasses was followed by a long, cold spring that reduced the early season plant foods, Bruscino said. Then, as summer progressed, the berry crop turned out to be average.
In addition to the limited berry supply, the whitebark pine nut crop was "poor."
"It was a bust year," for whitebark pine nuts, Bruscino said. "They (grizzlies) utilize them extensively when available in the fall."
Thus, grizzlies have spent the year in search of food which has included wandering to lower elevations. Some have threatened livestock, and others have rummaged through trash cans.
As a result, there have been 64 management captures of grizzlies to date this year in Wyoming, which Bruscino said is the most ever. Of those, 49 grizzlies were relocated, 13 were removed (sent to a zoo or euthanized), and two were released on site.
In the GYE, 47 grizzlies - including some from Wyoming listed above - have been "removed from the population" to date in 2010, meaning they were killed, died of natural causes, euthanized or sent to a zoo. Some deaths still are under investigation.
Well managed hunting seasons for the grizzly bear will increase revenue for the state and effectively manage the grizzly bear for the state in turn saving money for wildlife agencies to spend on other species and programs.
In a recent report published by the Grizzly bear Interagency Study Team 1999-2008 elk hunter numbers in the Grizzly Recovery Area have decreased by approximately 11,839 in the 3 states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. In said time frame Wyoming elk hunter numbers have declined by over 7,000 in the Grizzly Bear Recovery Area. This is negatively impacting state economies as well as regional economies that are dependent on revenue from hunting season. Budgets and funding for research is also affected due to the decline in revenue from elk licenses. Another important thing to note is how hunting pressure and land use is adversely affected by people exploring new areas to hunt outside the grizzly recovery area. Have these states done their research on this effect, Are these states prepared for this change?
There are bear and bear hunting organizations all over the East and Midwest (i.e. Michigan Bear Hunters Association, Carolina Bear Hunters Association) but we are the first in the Rocky Mountains. We encompass the Yellowstone Bordering states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
We will actively support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service and their appeal to the ruling of putting the grizzly bear back on the endangered species list. One of our major goals will be to work with local and state government in an effort to De-list the grizzly bear and be diligent in getting a grizzly bear hunting season in the states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. We will also be proactive in working with state and local wildlife officials on human bear conflicts and educating the public on causes. We feel this may reduce human bear issues and reduce the amount of bears euthanized by government officials. We also
will be adamant about bringing youth into bear hunting, it is so very important to continue this great tradition with our kids. We feel it will be very important to work hand in hand with all wildlife organizations such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Sportsman For Fish and Wildlife, and the Mule Deer Foundation to name a few. We feel a united front across all lines is important and we must unite to protect our rights as outdoorsman and ensure the heritage of hunting and fishing will be one our children and grand children can share.
Through our efforts we hope to increase black bear and grizzly bear hunting opportunities through habitat management and a better understanding of bear populations. A big start in the right direction would be to have all 3 states in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem conduction large scale Black Bear studies similar to the grizzly bear studies going on currently.
Here is our mission statement: "Yellowstone Country Bear Hunters Association is dedicated to the Protection and Development of Bears, Bear Hunting Opportunities and the protection of Bear Habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem." Our Goal Simply Put: "We are aimed at ensuring a future the of bears and bear hunting in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and bordering states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming" Right now I have a facebook site that can be found here http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#!/pages/Cody-WY/Yellowstone-Country-Bear-Hunters-Association/314636982898 I would love to have anyone in your organization join us or participate in some way on our site. I will soon have a full website but for now facebook is free. I am working on developing membership programs with Bear Hunting Magazine and will have that complete soon. Right now we are just looking for alliances in the bear hunting world. We are new to fundraising and the process of getting a non-profit of the ground; like I said right now we are just looking to develop a solid base at which to work from.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter. If you would like to chat further I would love to discuss any ideas or thoughts you may have. Thank You,
Joe A. Kondelis Yellowstone Country Bear Hunters Association 255 Upland Court - Cody, WY 82414 307-899-0461
Looks like it worked ok.
Brian
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