Officials to lift protections on grizzly bears at park

HELENA, Mont.—Protections that have been in place for more than 40 years for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park area will be lifted this summer after U.S. government officials ruled Thursday that the population is no longer threatened.

Grizzlies in all continental U.S. states except Alaska have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1975, when just 136 bears roamed in and around Yellowstone. There are now an estimated 700 grizzlies in the area that includes northwestern Wyoming, southwestern Montana and eastern Idaho, leading the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conclude that the population has recovered.

“This achievement stands as one of America’s great conservation successes,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said in a statement.

Grizzly bears once numbered about 50,000 and ranged over much of North America. Their population plummeted starting in the 1850s because of widespread hunting and trapping, and the bears now occupy only 2 percent of their original territory.

The final ruling by the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove Yellowstone grizzlies from the list of endangered and threatened species will give jurisdiction over the bears to Montana, Idaho and Wyoming by late July.

That will allow those states to plan limited bear hunts outside the park’s boundaries as long as the overall bear population does not fall below 600 bears. Wyoming and Montana are unlikely to hold hunts this year, state officials said. Idaho officials said it is too early to discuss a possible hunting season.

“We are in no rush to move forward on hunting,” said Laurie Wolf, spokeswoman for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “Right now we are really focused still on the conservation of this species.”

Hunting seasons for grizzlies would require approval by each state’s wildlife commission after a public review process that “will be an opportunity to have a rich and robust discussion,” said Brian Nesvik, wildlife division chief of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Hunting bears inside Yellowstone and nearby Grand Teton National Park would still be banned. The bears roam both inside and outside the parks, and their range has been expanding as their numbers have grown.