Homecoming

One of my passions is exploring human-carnivore coexistence, and the return of grizzly bears to the ecosystem in and around the  American Prairie Reserve  (APR) is a great study system to do this work.

Historically, humans and grizzlies shared these prairie landscapes, but today the journey of these bears from protected areas in the West to the APR landscape in the East poses many unique challenges that they have not evolved to properly understand. I use a combination of field-based data collection, high level statistical tools, and Esri mapping technology to help these bears return home and help people better live with them.

Grizzly bears are an iconic North American species that are recovering from near-extinction in many parts of the continent.

Listed as “threatened” under the US Endangered Species Act, long-term conservation action has allowed them to rebound in many areas, including parts of Montana.

Currently, Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Parks have healthy population sizes of grizzlies, and the territorial animals are extending their ranges outside of these protected areas in search of new and safe habitat to extend into.

The  American Prairie Reserve  has worked for over a decade to restore habitat in the Northern Great Plains with the goal of ultimately supporting all of the native wildlife in the ecosystem, including carnivores like grizzly bears, black bears, mountain lions, wolves, and coyotes.

With a goal of creating the largest protected area in the continental United States, the American Prairie Reserve is currently poised to host a population of grizzly bears in what is their ancestral homeland.

Although GPS data from collared grizzly bears along with camera trap sightings and citizen science observations have confirmed that grizzly bears are naturally migrating from Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks eastward to the American Prairie Reserve, they are limited by structural and functional barriers along the dispersal corridors.

My work sets the stage for identifying geographic regions or distinct points on the landscape where conservation scientists and wildlife managers can work to reduce or prevent human-bear conflict, even before grizzly bears arrive.

By working with landowners in these areas to support their livelihoods while preparing them for the potential of grizzly bear dispersal across the region, we are able to make powerful moves toward human-wildlife coexistence and ultimately ensure the persistence of grizzly bears in these critical ecosystems.

"Bringing grizzly bears home to the Northern Great Plains takes more than the establishment of national parks and protected areas. It requires active human-bear conflict mitigation along dispersal corridors, and these maps can help us understand which areas have the greatest need to protect grizzly bears and people."