 When you travel through Yellowstone National Park, you expect to see grizzly bears in the wild. Did you know that the population has grown from just 136 bears in 1975 to over 700 today? This spring, the U.S. Vision Wildlife Service released a proposed decision to remove the greater Yellowstone population of grizzly bears from the federal list of threatened and endangered species. Central to the proposed decision is the ability of bears to adapt and vary their foraging behavior. Whitebark pine has been documented as a valuable food source for bears and its decrease in range across the western United States led many scientists to question how the bear would respond. A study conducted by the interagency grizzly bear study team showed that Yellowstone's grizzlies were able to vary their diet and some spent no time in whitebark pine habitats at all. In addition, bears appeared able to maintain body condition and reproductive rates regardless of the specific foods they ingested. Keep an eye on policy and emerging science as management options for this iconic omnivore are developed. From the University of Wyoming Extension, I'm Mae Smith, Exploring the Nature of Wyoming.