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Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST)

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The grizzly bear distribution boundary represents the estimated geographic extent of occupied range of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population for the period 2008-2022. The distribution boundary was delineated to provide reliable estimations of grizzly bear occupancy throughout time and for use as a monitoring tool in grizzly bear management and conservation.The boundary was delineated by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) using an interpolation method based on grizzly bear VHF telemetry and GPS locations as well as verified observations and signs of grizzly bears inside the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem during 2008 to 2022.
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The 2016 Food Storage Order (FSO) boundary layer depicts those areas on Federal lands within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) where legal requirements pertaining to safe storage, possession, and handling of food and other grizzly bear attractants are implemented. FSOs give Forest Supervisors and National Park Superintendents the authority to close or restrict the use of designated areas under their jurisdiction in order to minimize human/grizzly bear conflicts. As of 2016, FSOs are prescribed on 98% of all Forest and Park Service lands inside the grizzly bear demographic monitoring area of the GYE. FSOs help facilitate connectivity between the Yellowstone grizzly bear and adjacent populations by minimizing...
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Bear Management Units (BMUs) are management areas within the Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone (GBRZ) that were delineated by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) to assist in managing habitat and monitoring population trends of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population. BMU areas approximate the size of the lifetime range of an average adult female and reflect areas of biological relevance to grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The GBRZ was divided into 18 distinct BMUs to facilitate monitoring and ensure that adequate habitat and numbers of grizzly bears are well distributed throughout the GYE recovery zone.
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Bear management subunits are subdivisions of larger bear management units (BMUs) that make up the Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone (GBRZ) located at the core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). Subunits were delineated to assist in the management and monitoring of grizzly bear habitat and population trends. The 18 BMUs comprising the Yellowstone GBRZ were subdivided into a total of 40 subunits to provide greater landscape resolution and to account for seasonal heterogeneity of grizzly bear use patterns within a BMU. Subunits were typically delineated at the scale of the average annual home range of an adult female grizzly bear in the GYE and typically consist of a major drainage enclosed by segments of intervening...
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