MISSOULA — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied Montana and Wyoming's petitions to delist grizzly bears on Wednesday.
Denying requests from Montana and Wyoming to delist grizzly bears from Endangered Species Act protections, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced what they say is a new, more comprehensive management approach for the Lower 48 states.
The agency suggests a new rule to clarify the exact geographic zone in which bears are protected, which includes parts of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington, and to manage the bears in it as one single, unified population. The USFWS said their proposal will increase flexibility for managing agencies and reduce human-bear conflict. They also released an independently peer-reviewed scientific assessment on the status of grizzlies.
Former USFWS grizzly bear recovery coordinator Christopher Servheen approves of the agency's decision. He wrote the current plan for bear management. His updated version was featured in a December petition, asking the agency to adopt several of the management strategies included in their proposal.
"Seeing where we've come since 1981, we've come a long way. We've done really well with these bears. We need to complete the job and not, um, walk away from it when we're not done,” Servheen told MTN. “It's like building a house and maybe you put the frame up and it starts to look like a house, but then you quit and say, well, we're done. That's essentially what would happen if we do this grizzly bears right now, we're not finished."
But, many Montana leaders, including Governor Greg Gianforte, have condemned the decision, saying grizzlies are fully recovered and do not need federal protection.
"The full recovery of the grizzly bear across the Rocky Mountain region should be acknowledged and celebrated — period. It's time for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to catch up with the science, follow the law, and return management of grizzlies to the states, where it belongs,” Gov. Gianforte said. “We look forward to working with the incoming Trump administration to explore a new path forward."
USFWS said this is the first step to fulfill an agreement with Idaho to evaluate the bears' protected status in the Lower 48 before January of next year.
