Louisa Willcox, director of NRDC's wild bears project, has worked to protect grizzly bears since 1985. One of the foremost experts in the country on grizzly conservation, she lives in Livingston, Montana.

Why do grizzly bears matter? Why should Americans care about them?
Grizzly bears are icons of the wild high country of the American West. When Lewis and Clark explored the West, grizzlies roamed from the Great Plains to California and from Alaska to Mexico. Today, however, the grizzly population in the lower 48 states is about 1 percent of estimated pre-colonial levels, and the few bears that remain are concentrated in shrinking pockets of the northern Rockies and North Cascades.

Any American who cares about this nation's history has a stake in conserving grizzly bears and their mountain habitat. Healthy bear populations mean that the land is healthy, and our children and grandchildren deserve the chance to experience for themselves these wild landscapes and their animals.

What are you working on these days?
My number-one priority right now is to prevent the "de-listing" of Yellowstone's grizzly bears from the Endangered Species Act -- the removal of protections this bear population has received since being listed under the ESA in 1975. These protections saved Yellowstone's grizzlies from sure extinction and the progress made toward recovery of the Yellowstone grizzly population over the last 30 years is one of the great success stories of the ESA. But the story isn't finished -- these bears are just not ready to come off the list.

Why shouldn't Yellowstone's grizzlies be de-listed?
These bears are still in trouble. To nail down the population's recovery, there should be 2,000 to 3,000 bears living in connected ecosystems. Today there are only 500. De-listing bears will loosen restrictions on development and resource exploitation in their habitat, further shrinking the territory in which they can safely roam. Less land means fewer grizzlies. And if Yellowstone's grizzlies die out, it would be like Old Faithful running dry.

What other work are you doing to protect bears?
I am working to redefine long-term recovery for grizzlies in the Rocky Mountains, which scientists say involves connecting Yellowstone bears to larger source populations in Canada. I also team up with NRDC colleagues and others in the conservation community to protect and link important habitat. Another part of my job entails education to head off preventable accidents. It's really true that "a fed bear is a dead bear." They're so smart that they never forget where they got a taste of a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. Often, when they return to the same spot again and again in search of food, they're eventually killed. So I help educate people about bear-proofing dumpsters and try to initiate efforts to improve garbage management and resolve conflicts.

1 2 >

Photo credit: Suzie Hollingsworth