After decades of overhunting and habitat loss, black bears are slowly recolonizing the lower Mississippi River basin
Black bears are typically associated with forest and mountainous habitats, but they were once abundant throughout the Southeast, including in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and the Atchafalaya Basin. (Courtesy Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency)
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Mississippi River Basin Ag and Water Desk
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an editorially independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in partnership with Report For America and funded by the Walton Family Foundation.
“It will be a slow process, but bears are going to recolonize Middle and West Tennessee,” said the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s black bear coordinator. “You can’t stop it.”
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Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk Tennessee Wildlife Resources AgencyMississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk
The Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk is an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri, in partnership with Report For America and the Society of Environmental Journalists, funded by the Walton Family Foundation. The Daily Memphian is a member of the reporting network.
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