Craighead Institute
Connect with Craighead Institute
  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Frank Craighead Legacy
      • Board of Directors
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Newsletters & Annual Reports
      • 2013 990
      • Contact Us >
        • Media and Resources >
          • Past Projects >
            • The Interior Cedar-Hemlock Forest of North America
            • Conservation Planning for the Four Great Rivers of eastern Tibet
            • Forest Structure and Biodiversity
          • In the News
          • Blog
          • Film Projects
  • Programs
    • Safe Highway Crossings for Wildlife
    • Recent Work
    • Recreational trails and Wildlife Program
    • Murals for T and E Species in Bozeman >
      • Mural Winners
      • Endangered Species Murals
      • T and E Plants
      • T and E Birds
      • T and E Mammals
      • T and E Fish
    • Conservation 2100 >
      • Renewable Energy >
        • Wind Power Development
        • Transmission Lines
    • Conservation Science >
      • Wilderness Study Areas and Wildlife
      • Grizzly Bears
      • Pika >
        • Pika Publications
      • Wolverines
      • Adopt a Pika
      • Conservation Technology >
        • Bridger Canyon LIDAR Project >
          • Why LIDAR?
    • Conservation Planning >
      • Sustainable Land Use >
        • Conservation Planning for Regional Scale Projects in the Yellowstone to Yukon
        • Madison Valley, Montana
        • High Divide
        • Canmore: a case study in conservation planning
      • Transportation >
        • Bozeman Pass
        • Madison Valley
    • Youth in Conservation >
      • Alpine Ecology & Climate Change
      • Who's in Your Back Yard?
      • Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
  • Store
  • Donate
    • Appeal for 2018
  • Blogs
    • Gallatin Forest Plan
    • Attack on Public Lands
    • Appeal for 2018
  • Mountain Journal
  • Mural Updates

Craighead Institute Input into Government Agency Planning Processes

Craighead Institute scientists provide input into many government processes that affect conservation decisions and management of public lands: both directly, and indirectly by providing reliable information to other stakeholders.

Delisting of the grizzly bear in the Yellowstone Ecosystem

Lance Craighead submitted a letter to the International Bear Association arguing that the IBA should not take a position on Delisting because of the political nature of the process. Instead, he encouraged individual IBA members to submit their own opinions to the Fish and Wildlife Service. (link to IBA_Newsletter_Nov_2005).

Carlos Carroll and co-authors Lance Craighead, Reed Noss and John Vucetich prepared a white paper for the Society for Conservation Biology. Because the proposed rule to delist the Yellowstone grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) population is relevant to larger issues involving implementation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 and development of species recovery targets and strategies in the U.S. and beyond, we felt it was appropriate and urgent for SCB's North America Section to review a summary of conservation science relevant to the rule. This position was adopted by the North American Section of the SCB and submitted to the Fish and Wildlife Service in February 2006. (link to SCBNAgrizzlybearstatement).

Lance Craighead also co-authored a Scientists sign-on letter opposing the proposed rule to delist the Yellowstone grizzly. This letter was signed by over 100 scientists and submitted to the Fish and Wildlife Service in February 2006. (link to Scientists_signon_letter).

Tom Olenicki and Lance Craighead presented a summary of the proposed delisting rule and its effects on grizzly bears at a press conference and hearing that was held in Bozeman MT on Feb.8. The presentation included a poster with maps of suitable grizzly bear habitat that we identified using the CERI grizzly habitat suitability model developed by Tom. (link to poster)

Lance, Tom, and Barrie Gilbert submitted a letter to the FWS outlining our opposition to the proposed delisting rule and providing an alternative set of requirements that we feel are sufficient to protect and maintain the grizzly bear population; these requirements should be met before delisting occurs. (link to CERI FWS letter)

Proposed changes to the ESA

CERI scientists and colleagues signed their names to a scientists' sign-on letter prepared by the Union of Concerned Scientists, EarthJustice, and the National Wildlife Federation opposing the proposed changes to the ESA under the Pombo Bill going through Congress. There has been a tremendous outpouring of support: over 3,800 biological experts representing every state in the country have joined the letter! The letter with the full complement of signatures was delivered to each U.S. Senator in early February 2006. (link to ESA_letter)

Proposed changes in National Park Service Policies

CERI scientists and colleagues supported a letter prepared by the George Wright Society (http://www.georgewright.org/), and commented on those changes via a National Park Service Planning, Environment, and Public Comment web site at this link. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Committee on Protected Areas (WPCA) North America also opposed the proposed changes in US National Park Service Policies being promulgated by the Bush Administration. Lance Craighead is a member of the WCPA. A summary of the GWS comments is available here (link to george wright society summary)

Designation of Grizzly Bear Management Areas in British Columbia

At the suggestion of the Raincoast Conservation Society and the Environmental Investigative Association, Barrie Gilbert, Lance Craighead, and Brian Horesji (all CERI science advisors) prepared a critique of British Columbia's Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy in 1998 outlining the requirements we feel are necessary for a GBMA if it is to adequately maintain grizzly populations (link to BCGriz_rep).

Forest Management Plans

Gallatin NF travel management plan

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.