Federal officials have decided against handing over management of grizzly bears to the states. That’s the major outcome of a Wednesday proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) to keep grizzlies in the lower 48 states on the endangered species list. Environmental groups immediately applauded wildlife officials for maintaining the “threatened” designation, which ensures continued federal protection of the animals.
The announcement drew ire from state officials in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. For years, officials in these northern states have petitioned for direct control of grizzly bear populations within their borders by “delisting” the animals from the endangered species list. Wyoming already stated its intention to open up state-sanctioned hunting if the bears were delisted.
But USFW has a different idea. The bears will retain the federal protections in place since 1975. Moreover, the roughly 2,000 bears will be managed as a single group, or “distinct population segment,” the agency said in a news release. Until now, the bears have been managed as five distinct groups, including the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the Northern Continental Divide.
“Grizzly bear populations are now geographically closer to each other than ever, and the Service has documented grizzly bear movement between some populations, indicating recovery zones are no longer discrete,” USFW said.
State Officials Blast Biden
It didn’t take long for officials in Wyoming and Montana to protest the Wednesday decision from USFW.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon argued that bear management should return to state control now that grizzlies have reached their population targets in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Gordon added that he’ll work with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump to delist the bears, and for “reforming the broken Endangered Species Act.”
“Our state wildlife managers are foremost experts on this bruin — they should be at the helm of decision-making that impacts the daily lives of people in Wyoming who live and work in grizzly bear country,” Gordon said in a Wednesday statement.
Even stronger words came from Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who used the decision to attack President Joe Biden. Earlier this week, Biden moved to protect millions of acres of federal land and coastlines from oil and gas development.
“This decision makes it clear that Joe Biden has embraced a scorched earth strategy on his way out the door,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said in an Instagram video on Wednesday. “We are deeply disappointed with the Biden administration and its complete defiance of science and the law.”
USFW had long delayed a decision on its latest proposal for grizzly bear management. Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho have pressured federal officials to delist the bears since 2021.
Broad Support From Public, Environmental Groups
According to federal officials, it’s still possible that the bears could eventually be delisted from the endangered species list. Managing the animals as a single population will help reach that goal, said USFW Service Director Martha Williams.
“This reclassification will facilitate recovery of grizzly bears and provide a stronger foundation for eventual delisting,” Williams said. “And the proposed changes to our 4(d) rule will provide management agencies and landowners more tools and flexibility to deal with human/bear conflicts, an essential part of grizzly bear recovery.”
The USFW proposal is also similar to one issued by a coalition of environmental groups in December, Wyoming Public Media reported. Fifteen organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, petitioned USFW to group all the grizzly bears in a single “metapopulation.” The environmental groups posited that the bears still haven’t fully recovered and need the freedom to move into new areas.
Without safeguards to protect them, the species could again be driven toward extinction from habitat losses caused by climate change and hostile state officials, said Chris Servheen, a former grizzly recovery coordinator for USFW.
“We spent about $30 million and 45 years recovering grizzly bears to where they are now,” Servheen told The Associated Press. “If they are delisted, it would turn around, and they would again be on the verge of extinction.”
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