Few in the world have dedicated their lives to the protection of bears the way Christopher Servheen has. For decades, his efforts to minimize human-bear conflicts and create interagency conservation strategies that balance the needs of people and bears have had lasting impacts from Montana all the way to the international level.

Chris earned both his Bachelor’s and Ph.D. from the University of Montana, along with his Master’s at the University of Washington–all focused on Wildlife Biology or Wildlife Conservation. His research focused on not only grizzly bears, but Bald Eagles as well, with 103 wildlife publications under his belt.

Back in the 1970’s, grizzly bears were still on the Endangered Species List. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service appointed Chris to be its Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator–the first and only national bear recovery coordinator position at the time. He served his position for 35 years, coordinating research and management on grizzlies in the lower 48 states. His pragmatic approach to improve the status of bear populations used both science and public involvement. He was team leader for the Bitterroot Grizzly Bear Reintroduction EIS and was responsible for the eventual proposals to delist the Yellowstone Grizzly populations in 2007 and 2016. He retired in 2016..

Chris brought his expertise and passion to bear conservation to several countries in Europe and Asia, even earning a Fulbright Scholarship in 1994 to work on brown bear conservation and management in Greece. He worked on the issue of the trade in bears and bear parts in Asia working in many countries including South Korea, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Laos, and Thailand. The bear parts trade for use in traditional medicine had a significant negative impacts on Asian bear conservation efforts. He co-chaired the Bear Specialist Group for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for twelve years. He is currently the co-chair of the North American Bears Expert Team for IUCN.

He chaired the 8 interagency Boards of Review on human fatalities due to grizzly bear attacks in the lower 48 states. These Boards of Review produce detailed reports on how and why each fatality occurred, and in four cases produced detailed recommendations on ways to minimize such human fatalities in the future.

Chris is also an avid educator. He taught International Wildlife Conservation as a research associate professor at the University of Montana for 18 years, and was the advisor for 21 graduate students and multiple research projects along the way.

He has multiple accolades in recognition of his work in global and national bear recovery, including: the first Chuck Yeager Award from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (1989); the President’s Award from the International Association for Bear Research and Management (2001); Conservation Award of Excellence from Defenders of Wildlife (1997); the Department of Interior Meritorious Service Award (2007); George B. Rabb Award from the Chicago Zoological Society (2008); and the Arnold Bolle Conservation Professional Award from Missoula Conservation Roundtable (2008)

Chris’ dedication to conserving our global bear populations is truly once in a generation. He currently serves as Board Chair and President of the Montana Wildlife Federation, continuing his lifelong work in wildlife conservation.

Biography by Kalle Fox