An Inconvenient Grizzly

Program Description
Humans have been on the North American scene for an estimated 30,000 to 15,000 years. Our arrival was preceded by the grizzly bear by perhaps 20,000 years – who would cross the same tenuous landscape bridge, arriving in North America some 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. It is estimated that by the time of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, upwards of 50,000 to 100,000 grizzly bears roamed the American West. The settlement period of the West would see a dramatic decline in grizzly bear numbers and a corresponding decrease in available habitat. Now, as New West meets Old West, grizzly bear numbers are a focal point of concern and contention. Join Smith in a biological, cultural, and philosophical look at the grizzly bear in contemporary Montana.