As mountainous areas were settled, development contributed to an increase in human-caused mortality. Habitat deterioration, commercial trapping, unregulated hunting, concerns about livestock predation and the perception that grizzlies threatened human life were leading causes of the bear's decline. Because of the size and power of grizzly bears, people often fear and exaggerate stories about them. However, bears rarely harm humans. Most of the Bitterroot is designated wilderness where bear attacks would be rare.
Experts say that's because most wilderness users know how to camp in bear country.
For example, in Montana's heavily used Bob Marshall Wilderness, only one bear-caused death has been reported during the last 50 years. In 1975, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the grizzly bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The proposal for grizzly reintroduction by Defenders and othershas three key parts. Second, the proposal focuses grizzly reintroductions on the four million acres of congressionally designated wilderness in the Bitterroot ecosystem where potential conflict is lowest. Third, the plan calls for joint management of a Bitterroot grizzly population by a team of local citizens, state and federal officials and tribal representatives.