A new study from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Nevada Department of Wildlife , and the University of Nevada-Reno finds says conservation efforts have resulted in the re-colonization of black bears into portions of their historic ranges in the Great Basin. The animals had been absent from these areas for more than 80 years. Beside habitat regeneration, the study authors attribute the successful recolonization to conservation efforts conducted by WCS and NDOW over the course of more than 20 years. Now a once negative population growth rate for bears in urban-interface areas became an average annual growth rate of 16 percent for more than a decade. Once gone from their former range, more than 500 black bears have now recolonized these areas.