Grizzly bears in the US lower 48 states have partially recovered thanks to ESA protection. Individual welfare depends on salmon access, winter food security, and freedom from trophy hunting pressure in a politically contested recovery.
Grizzly bear welfare is profoundly seasonal — the quality of summer and autumn feeding determines winter survival and cub rearing success. Salmon are the highest-quality pre-hibernation food available; bears with river access achieve significantly better body condition than inland populations dependent on vegetation and ungulates. Habitat connectivity allows bears to access diverse food patches as seasonal availability shifts — fragmented ranges force bears into nutritional stress and human conflicts. Delisting from ESA protection would allow state-managed trophy hunting, adding direct lethal welfare harm alongside the stress, wounding, and pack disruption that legal hunting causes. Individual bears that become food-conditioned near human settlements face lethal removal — the same prevention-focused approach used for black bears applies: bear-proof infrastructure, education, and non-lethal hazing as first-line responses.