A billboard reading, “Wanna see bears? SAY NO! TO TROPHY HUNTING,” was spotted by NRAHLF.org contributor Keith Crowley just outside Yellowstone National Park. The sign stands as a grizzly-sized testament to the anti-hunting crowd’s ignorance on the matter of wildlife management.
The signage in Cody, a city roughly 50 miles outside the park, is funded by the extremist group Wyoming Wildlife Advocates (WWA). It’s purpose: to push a public misinformation campaign regarding the hunting of grizzly bears to visitors utilizing the travel route into the park. What it really shows is the group has chosen to disregard the successes of grizzly management via the North American model of wildlife conservation.
The truth is, the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has grown more than five times what it was 40 years ago to more than 700 bears, according to wildlife experts, and the bears have extended their territory by more than 50 percent. Cody residents are seeing firsthand evidence of the booming bear population, as problem bears are continually trapped and relocated outside the town. Considering WWA is located in Wilson, Wyo., more than 100 miles away from Cody, the group clearly has no understanding of Cody’s interaction with grizzlies.
Finally, if there’s any question on the validity of the sign, keep in mind that WWA’s own executive director, Roger Hayden, said, “We like to stir up [expletive removed], especially over there [in Cody].”
Need any more proof that the billboard is bogus?
