An introduced bill would delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear population from the endangered species list and give control to states to manage the population.
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) addressed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in support of his bill, the Grizzly Bear State Management Act, earlier this month, which he introduced in February 2019.
The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the 2017 final rule related to removing the GYE population of grizzly bears from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and prohibiting further judicial review of the decision.
“It’s clear that under the Endangered Species Act, grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region are fully recovered, that they should be delisted and management returned to the states,” Enzi said in a press release. “I have been working on this issue for over 20 years, and we already knew back then that grizzly bears had already fully recovered.
“Unfortunately, we have seen environmental groups take advantage of the court system in the face of wildlife management experts and the science presented before us. Our legislation would finally right that wrong by once again delisting the bears and stopping further frivolous litigation on this issue.”
Speaking at the hearing, Enzi emphasized authorities agree the grizzly has fully recovered and criticized the “senseless” litigation, which continues to hinder the species’ management. Enzi added proper management of the species is not only critical to the species, but also to the threats it poses to livestock and people.
“That’s why I believe the authority to manage the species needs to be turned over to the states,” Enzi stated at the hearing. “I have often found that states are better suited to address these kinds of issues because they are more familiar with the unique needs of their own communities and ecosystems.”
Montana, Idaho and Wyoming adopted a tri-state memorandum committed to cooperatively managing the recovered population throughout the GYE earlier this year. The memorandum sets the minimum grizzly population at 500 bears and 16 of the bear management areas in the primary conservation area have one female with offspring in a six-year period.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) recently received recommendations from a citizens advisory committee regarding bear management in the state. The recommendations included fully funding the Livestock Loss Board, facilitating the movement of the bears between recovery zones, creating a statewide “Bear Aware” campaign and enforcing consistent food storage. The citizen lead committee also presented arguments both for and against hunting of grizzly bears for Bullock to decide what recommendation to take with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Kaitlynn Glover, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association executive director of natural resources and the Public Lands Council executive director, reaffirmed the need to delist the grizzly bear and commended Enzi and the committee for addressing the issue.
“The committee heard what ranchers across the West have known for years: Grizzly bear populations are flourishing, which means the species no longer need protection under the Endangered Species Act,” Glover said in a press release. “Grizzly bear recovery is a conservation win, and returning bears to state management should be celebrated as a measure of success. Time after time, we have seen the Department of the Interior move to delist grizzly bears and be foiled by activist judges prioritizing opinion over science and undermining states’ successful management of thousands of wildlife species under their purview.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) delisted grizzlies in 2007, but a federal court overturned the decision due to what appeared to be a diminishing food source. In 2018, the USFWS determined that “The [grizzly bear] population has rebounded from as few as 136 bears in 1975 to an estimated 700 today and meets all the criteria for delisting.”
Despite the determination, a federal judge in Montana ordered the grizzly bears back to the endangered species list. 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.
A companion bill was introduced by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY-At Large) in the House last year. U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), John Barrasso (R-WY), James Risch (R-ID) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) are cosponsors of the Grizzly Bear State Management Act. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
