MISSOULA – The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC), the multi-agency committee responsible for coordinating the recovery of grizzly bears in the continental United States and adjacent Canadian Provinces will be taking their annual summer meeting to the North Idaho.
The IGBC will be meeting at the Kootenai River Lodge in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, starting on June 22 and ending June 23.
The IGBC was created in 1983 to lead efforts to recover the grizzly bear in the lower 48 states and adjoining Canadian Provinces. The committee is made up of the top leadership of state, federal, and Canadian resource management agencies. The committee itself has no regulatory authority, but it serves the important function of coordinating government resources from agencies with a wide scope of missions, to ensure recovery of the grizzly bear. Recovery efforts are focused on six ecosystems that were identified when the grizzly was listed as a Threatened Species in 1975.
The summer meeting of IGBC in North Idaho will provide managers to meet within the heart of the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak Recovery Areas. Discussion will also continue from last summer’s meeting in the North Cascade Recovery Area as managers hear about a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) scheduled to be released later this fall.
The public is invited to attend the IGBC meeting and a time slot has been set aside at the end of each day for public comment. Individuals with disabilities may request meeting accommodations by contact Gregg Losinski at 208-390-0635 or through the Idaho Relay Service at 1-800-377-3529 (TDD). The agenda and location for the Summer 2016 IGBC Meeting may be viewed on our calendar.
