More than 47,000 people, organizations and agencies have taken the time to send in their thoughts on federal wildlife managers’ Biden-era proposal to continue classifying grizzly bears as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
It’s a decision that attracts so much interest because it closes, or opens, the door for grizzly bear hunting. The scores of folks wanting to weigh in on future management of the iconic, though controversial, large carnivores faced a fast-approaching deadline Monday. On Friday, however, the Fish and Wildlife Service — now under the Trump administration — quietly pushed back the cutoff for comments.
The change was made public in a notice posted Friday online in the Federal Register. The new deadline is May 16.
Fish and Wildlife Service officials, who couldn’t be reached immediately, haven’t yet publicized the extension. It caught even some environmental advocacy groups that closely track grizzly bear issues by surprise.
“I would expect that we will see more obfuscation and not a lot of transparency out of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about this decision,” Wyoming Wildlife Advocates Executive Director Kristine Combs told WyoFile. “We’re all waiting to see what happens and waiting to see what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does.”
It’s widely expected that the Trump administration’s Fish and Wildlife Service will reel back the early January proposal, which came when it did because of a court order. Doug Burgum, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, told Montana Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican, during his confirmation hearing, “I’m with you” on the grizzly issue.
“We should be celebrating when species come off the endangered species list,” Burgum said during the hearing, “as opposed to fighting every way we can to try and keep them on that list.”
The Trump administration’s pick to lead the Fish and Wildlife Service, former Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Brian Nesvik, has also been an advocate of the states managing grizzlies.
Another potential path forward that could convey jurisdiction over grizzly bears from the federal to state governments would be “delisting” via an act of Congress. U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman has brought a bill that would do just that, with favorable odds in the 119th Congress, which includes Republican majorities in both chambers.
During a Thursday town hall-style meeting in Afton, Wyoming’s lone Congressional representative told Star Valley residents about that effort.
“In my opinion, the Endangered Species Act is a good law,” Hageman said. “But if a species has been recovered, we should not be spending our limited resources on that species.”
The population recovery goal of 500 grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, where she spoke, has been surpassed for more than two decades.
As part of a legal settlement with the state of Idaho, the Fish and Wildlife Service must complete its rulemaking related to grizzly bears by January 2026.
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