Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears — and Ursus arctos horribilis throughout its Lower 48 range — will remain protected by the Endangered Species Act if federal wildlife managers proceed with plans announced Wednesday afternoon.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal, which has been in the works for two years, means that the Northern Rockies states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho will not gain jurisdiction over the species in the near future, or be empowered to authorize hunting of the iconic bruins.
The federal agency is also proposing to do away with the geographically distinct “distinct population segments,” and instead manage all grizzlies south of Canada as a collective.
zones. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
“This reclassification will facilitate recovery of grizzly bears and provide a stronger foundation for eventual delisting,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a statement.
The plans, which are still just a proposal, would alter some current aspects of grizzly management, including added latitude for officials to kill conflict-causing bears.
“[T]he proposed changes to our 4(d) rule will provide management agencies and landowners more tools and flexibility to deal with human/bear conflicts,” Williams said, “an essential part of grizzly bear recovery.”
Grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1975. The population has grown steadily, achieving initial recovery goals more than two decades ago.
Twice before — most recently in 2017— the bruins were “delisted,” granting states management authority, though on both occasions lawsuits from environmental advocacy groups overturned the decisions.
The possibility of a third attempt at delisting came about because of a Wyoming petition, which called for the Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the Yellowstone region’s 1,000-plus bears. Separately, a Montana petition asked for the agency to hand over authority over the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem population.
“After a thorough review of the best scientific and commercial data available, the Service found grizzly bear populations in those two ecosystems do not, on their own, represent valid [distinct population segments],” the agency explained in a press release.
Federal officials will publish a proposed rule formalizing their plans in the coming days. A 60-day-comment period will follow publication of the rule in the Federal Register.
This breaking news story will be updated.
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