Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY-At Large) reintroduced the Grizzly Bear State Management Act of 2021, directing the Department of the Interior to delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear population from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife. The legislation would also prohibit further judicial review of this decision.
“This legislation would return the management of the grizzly to the state-level, where it belongs. The federal government or unelected judges and bureaucrats should not be in the business of telling us how to operate. The state and people of Wyoming know what’s best for Wyoming,” Cheney said in a statement.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID-2) is cosponsoring the current bill, stating it would end “the incessant litigation” over grizzly bear management.
“The Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bear is one of the most well-documented bear populations in the world and their numbers have grown from 136 in 1975 to over 700 today,” said Simpson in a statement. “For decades, local, state, and federal partners have worked together to revive the population of the Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bear. This recovery effort should be viewed as a success and I am confident the state agencies are prepared to manage this population.”
Park County, WY, commissioners sent a letter at their meeting on March 2 to Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), endorsing her efforts to pass the bill.
“It is time for the federal government to uphold its end of the agreement made with the people who live and recreate in Park County and delist the grizzly bear,” the commission wrote, “and we feel the passage of this bill will do just that.”
According to the Wyoming News Exchange, Park County Commission Chairman Lee Livingston said at the meeting the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is “broken,” and he is “a little bit tired of seeing wildlife management coming from the bench.”
Cheney reiterated this sentiment in her press release, writing, “The bill would also stop the abuse of the court system by environmental extremists and safeguard the scientifically proven delisting determination so that politically motivated conservationists cannot take advantage of that process.”
Cheney, along with Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), introduced a similar version of the bill last congressional session, with Enzi addressing the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to support his bill. Congress took no further action on the bill.
Kaitlynn Glover, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association executive director of natural resources, and Public Lands Council executive director, praised the bill introduced by Enzi at the time. Glover stated the species is an example of a conservation win and returning bears to state management should be celebrated as a measure of success.
Despite meeting the criteria for delisting, a federal judge in Montana ordered the grizzly bears back to the endangered species list in 2018. The state of Wyoming appealed the decision, and in July 2020, a federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld the continued protections for the grizzly bear.
Cheney’s bill was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources and a companion bill has not been introduced in the Senate.
Across the border in Montana, Sen. Bruce Gillespie (R-Ethridge-9) proposed a state Senate joint resolution, stating Montana’s congressional delegation work to returning the management of the grizzly bears to the state. The resolution supports the delisting of the bears in the Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone and the Northern Continental Divide Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone from the ESA.
The resolution also asks the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) to develop a new management plan that would resolve conflicts between humans and grizzlies. It also calls for sufficient federal funding for grizzly management until delisting. It encourages USFWS to revisit its recovery plans for the Cabinet-Yaak and Bitterroot recovery zones “to include the latest science related to genetic connectivity and population targets.”
The resolution was passed in the state Senate on the third reading and moved to the House, where it had its first reading on March 8. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
