| Estimates range from 3,000 to 10,000 Brown Bears
with populations in varying degrees of stability.
Coastal populations are being severely impacted by
logging practices. Out of 353 coastal valleys 70 are still intact; 55 of
these are scheduled to be logged. The salmon populations upon which
these bears depend are also being depleted. 142 known salmon stocks have
gone extinct. There are currently 642 stocks considered to be at high
risk of extinction. (more on this soon: stay tuned)
There are presently only about 60-80 grizzlies
in Banff National Park and about 200 in all National Parks in the
Northern Rockies. In British Columbia and Alberta there have been about
800 grizzly mortalities (all but 3 man-caused) since 1982. There have
been about 600 mortalities in the East Kootenai since 1976 (Bryon Benn,
pers. comm.). Hopes of Canadian bears emigrating into the U.S. to rescue
declining populations are unrealistic.
The British Columbia Ministry of the Environment has
developed a Habitat Capability Model for grizzly bears.
Population estimates have been summarized by Servheen
(1990).
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