Grizzly bears are reproductively limited.

A teddy bear will give you love.
A grizzly bear will give you a mauling.
Some bears aren't just the same.

Lower elevation habitat has always been a part of the grizzly bear's breadbox. That is where their year begins when they come out of their dens. The more bears you have and the greater diversity and distribution, the better off they are genetically.

Advances are being made daily in the scientific understanding of grizzly bears, but we are decades behind in our conservation strategy.

The dilemma is trying to set aside a large enough block of land or a large area where grizzly bears can live. Where humans will tolerate bears and where bears have some semblance of space where they are not constantly running into humans.

While we salute and celebrate this progress, we cannot afford to gamble with the bears' future. The Yellowstone grizzly bear is an irreplaceable part of America's natural heritage, an icon of all that is wild and free.