Grizzly bear ecology was studied in the southern Bear Management Units (BMUs) of the Yellowstone ecosystem to examine whether multiple land use lands can be managed to provide adequate bear habitat. The study was designed to assist recovery and management of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem and included 4 objectives:

"1) identify characteristics of grizzly bear habitat within the South Absaroka, Buffalo/Spread Creek, and Bechler/Teton BMUs,

2) determine if habitat deficienies exist in logged areas,

3) determine if the amount of adequate escape/hiding cover following logging is correlated with age of the cut,

4) develop guidance for future timber harvest to protect and maintain grizzly bear habitat on the Shoshone National Forest.

13 bears were trapped and radio-collared. Radio telemetry from fixed wing aircraft was used to locate bears. Bears were tracked from the time they emerged from dens to when they re-entered. Locations were photographed and plotted using Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates. Home ranges, and "core areas" were calculated using the Harmonic Mean Method. Results indicated that although the amounts of bear foods available in logged areas were similiar to those of undisturbed control sites, bears generally did not coincide with human-caused habitat disturbances. They avoided clearcuts, thinnings and non-forested areas.

The lack of security cover and overstory cover are believed to be major causes of this. The authors note that it may be conceivable they were unable to document bears foraging within clearcuts because bears may have sought dense cover and bedding during daily flight periods. They also note that they were not able to determine bear activities or behavior when they were located within forest sites and unfortunately this cover type accounted for most telemetry locations. Therefore it is unknown if bears modify their use of habitats through the course of their daily activity cycles.