Take Action for Idaho’s Imperiled Grizzly Bears

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) is currently seeking public input on the draft Selkirk-Cabinet Yaak Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy. With an estimated population of only 120 bears in the Selkirk-Cabinet Yaak Ecosystem (SCYE), North Idaho’s grizzlies face a fragile future. High rates of human-caused mortality, genetic isolation and proposed rollbacks to habitat protections threaten decades of slow recovery progress.

If you care about keeping Idaho’s wild places wild, now is the time to make your voice heard. The deadline to submit public feedback is August 24, 2026, at 5:00 PM PDT.

Key Issues to Highlight in Your Comments

When drafting your submission to the IGBC, focus your feedback on Chapter 2 (demographic objectives, mortality management and genetic health) and consider incorporating these vital talking points:

• Enforceable Mortality Limits: Require strict, binding limits on human-caused mortality, especially for breeding females, whose loss severely impacts population recovery. Demand mandatory bear identification training for all big game hunters and stricter regulations on recreational trapping and snaring in grizzly habitat.
• Mandatory Food Storage Orders: Rescinding mandatory food storage rules on public lands in favor of voluntary guidelines is a step backward. Urge agencies to maintain and strictly enforce mandatory food storage orders across all core grizzly recovery zones to prevent human-bear conflicts.
• Genetic Connectivity & Dispersal Corridors: Relying on rare, accidental genetic exchanges is not a viable long-term recovery strategy. The plan must explicitly safeguard natural movement corridors between the SCYE and the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) without aggressive management actions hindering dispersing bears in under-occupied habitats.
• Dedicated Science & Monitoring Funding: Ensure the strategy includes permanent multi-agency funding commitments for robust demographic and genetic monitoring by USGS, USFS, and state wildlife agencies.

How to Submit Your Public Comment

Submitting a comment takes only a few minutes, but public involvement is essential to ensuring these bears receive strong, science-based protections.

1. Review the full draft strategy and context on the Idaho Conservation League Action Page.
2. Submit your official feedback directly through the IGBC Public Comment Portal.
3. Spread the word by sharing this with fellow backpackers, hikers and wildlife advocates before the August 24 deadline.