Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied petitions from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears. Scientific evidence clearly shows grizzlies are not yet recovered.
“The law requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to rely on scientific evidence—not politics—for decisions about its work to restore populations of endangered and threatened species such as grizzly bears,” said Matthew Bishop, senior attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center. “The scientific community overwhelmingly agrees that while grizzlies are increasing in number, their full recovery depends on improved connectivity between population centers. Before winning our case to restore grizzly bears’ endangered species protections in 2018, Wyoming and Idaho hastily organized trophy hunts in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Thankfully, those hunts never took place, but they illustrate the type of brutal ‘state management’ these hostile jurisdictions must not be allowed to impose.”
The Service proposed a new distinct population segment for grizzly bears including Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Washington state rather than several, smaller subpopulations within the region. This would allow the agency to better align its conservation efforts with regional connectivity the bears require for recovery. The boundaries for the new listing still need to be evaluated.
The proposed 4(d) rule would unfortunately loosen restrictions on how and when grizzly bears can be killed by landowners or management agencies. We plan to take a closer look at that change and evaluate whether it furthers the conservation of the species.
Contact:
Matthew Bishop, Western Environmental Law Center, 406-324-8011, gro.w1736814370alnre1736814370tsew@1736814370pohsi1736814370b1736814370
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