OPINION: Is the system working against grizzly bears?

When I first arrived in Badrock Canyon, Montana, near Glacier National Park and the Great Bear Wilderness 15 years ago, after moving here from taking early retirement from an aerospace engineering career in Denver, Colorado, in order to help save the grizzly bear from the likes of Dr. Chris Servheen of U.S. Fish and Wildlife, I immediately immersed myself in attending as many meetings on grizzly bears as I could find.

The first meeting set the tone for the work I would have cut out for me. In that meeting Chris Servheen tried to establish the fact that declining whitebark pine tree nuts, due to white pine blister rust, and the ravages of global warming on cutthroat trout, both well-known vital grizzly bear food staples, would not overly impact grizzly bears … that the bears were very resourceful and could find other food to sustain them if they were delisted from the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The multitude of scientists in that meeting were appalled at that statement, but most were beholden to Servheen for their salaries and/or research funding and very jobs, and dared not speak out against him.

I never spoke to the arrogant Mr. Servheen that day, or in the 15 years of meetings we both attended since, but did interview those shell-shocked wildlife biologists to determine if they would denounce Servheen publicly and better dedicate themselves to saving the grizzly bear from delisting in order to ensure its survival. It was my turn to be appalled to learn their careers come first in importance to them and they would not stand up to this maniacal czar of grizzly bear monitoring, controls and recovery.

In all these subsequent years, try as I might, I could not rally government wildlife biologists to stand up to Servheen. He was too established with his cohorts/superiors like current USFW Director Dan Ashe and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell in Washington, D.C., or their predecessors on the staff of Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and, currently, Barack Obama.

In my opinion, Servheen had long ago abandoned being a scientist and become a politician, hiding behind laws that prevented environmental groups from personally suing him in a court of law for his bizarre, insane, anti-conservation behavior regarding grizzly bears.

If there was any way for me to make contact with President Obama today, I would reveal to him how destructive to his legacy these three people in control of grizzly bear survival will be for him. Obama is a city slicker, not an outdoorsman, and does not know what he does not know about the plight of grizzly bears under a handful of political monsters in their charge.

I have heard that Servheen, since his recent notification of retirement, is coming out of the closet and openly, actively participating with groups in the barbaric planning to trophy hunt grizzly bears by virtue of them being delisted. The terrifying truth is that once grizzly bears are successfully delisted, the Republican Party has sworn to never let them be relisted again. It will be politically permanent. So much for Republican capitalism … tourism generated by grizzly bear viewing is Montana’s No. 1 industry.

With this writing I am going on the record to say that, in my opinion, Chris Servheen plans on dedicating himself to ignoring and overcoming objections of the general public and 40 Native American tribes who do not want grizzly bears delisted and hunted/killed for the pleasure of Servheen and his trophy hunting friends. President Obama needs to step in and relieve Dan Ashe and Sally Jewell of their duties, where along with Servheen they have consistently failed to protect grizzly bears, and revoke Servheen’s retirement benefits.

Maybe, now, wildlife biologists will no longer have to live in fear for their career paths and can come forward and reveal the dangers grizzly bears were in under Servheen and right those wrongs done. It would ensure that the next czar is appointed more judiciously.

In the meantime, I recommend you nice readers of this article defeat Jim Williams, supervisor of Region 1 at MFWP here locally, from his upcoming mission of enhancing his stature and increasing staff and operating budgets and salaries, with the selling of licenses to hunt grizzly bears by all of you buying up those licenses and then not using them to murder the great iconic bear. No grizzly bears should be killed by humans … nary a one!

Baum is a Martin City area resident.