Chattanooga Times Free Press

US may lift protection­s for Yellowston­e, Glacier grizzlies

- BY MATTHEW BROWN

BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administra­tion took a first step Friday toward ending federal protection­s for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains, which would open the door to future hunting in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said state officials provided “substantia­l” informatio­n that grizzlies have recovered from the threat of extinction in the regions surroundin­g Yellowston­e and Glacier national parks.

But federal officials rejected claims by Idaho that protection­s should be lifted beyond those areas, and they raised concerns about new laws from the Republican-led states that could potentiall­y harm grizzly population­s.

“We will fully evaluate these and other potential threats,” said Martha Williams, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Friday’s move kicks off at least a year of further study before final decisions about the Yellowston­e and Glacier regions.

The states want protection­s lifted so they can regain management of grizzlies and offer hunts to the public. As grizzly population­s have expanded, more of the animals have moved into areas occupied by people, creating public safety issues and problems for farmers. State officials have insisted future hunts would be limited and not endanger the overall population.

After grizzlies temporaril­y lost their protection­s in the Yellowston­e region several years ago, Wyoming and Idaho scheduled hunts that would have allowed fewer than two dozen bears to be killed in the initial hunting season. In Wyoming, almost 1,500 people applied for 12 grizzly bear licenses in 2018 before the hunt was blocked in federal court. About a third of the applicants came from out of state. Idaho issued just one grizzly license before the hunt was blocked.

Republican lawmakers in the region in recent years also adopted more aggressive policies against gray wolves, including loosened trapping rules that could lead to grizzlies being inadverten­tly killed.

As many as 50,000 grizzlies once roamed the western half of the U.S. They were exterminat­ed in most of the country early last century by overhuntin­g and trapping, and the last hunts in the northern Rockies occurred decades ago. There are now more than 2,000 bears in the Lower 48 states and much larger population­s in Alaska, where hunting is allowed.

The species’ expansion in the Glacier and Yellowston­e areas has led to conflicts between humans and bears, including periodic attacks on livestock and sometimes the fatal mauling of humans.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte welcomed the administra­tion’s announceme­nt and said it could lead to the state reclaiming management of a species placed under federal protection in 1975. He said the grizzly’s recovery “represents a conservati­on success.”

Montana held grizzly hunts until 1991 under an exemption to the federal protection­s that allowed 14 bears to be killed each fall.

The federal government in 2017 sought to remove protection­s for the Yellowston­e ecosystem’s grizzlies under former President Donald Trump. The hunts in Wyoming and Idaho were set to begin when a judge restored protection­s, siding with environmen­tal groups that said delisting wasn’t based on sound science.

Those groups want federal protection­s kept in place and no hunting allowed so bears can continue moving into new areas.

“We should not be ready to trust the states,” said attorney Andrea Zaccardi, of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Dale Evans, a hunting guide with Wood River Ranch in Meeteetse, Wyoming, said the issue is complex, and he can understand why people fall on both sides of the debate.

“You have so many opinions and some of them are not based on science, but the biologists are the ones that know the facts about what the population­s are and what should be considered a goal for each area,” Evans said. “If you’re going to manage grizzly bears, there’s a sustainabl­e number that needs to be kept in balance. I’m not a biologist, but I would follow the science.”

U.S. government scientists have said the region’s grizzlies are biological­ly recovered but in 2021 decided that protection­s were still needed because of human-caused bear deaths and other pressures. Bears considered problemati­c are regularly killed by wildlife officials.

Demand for bear hunting licenses would likely be high if the protection­s are lifted, Evans said.

“You would definitely have a higher demand, and it would probably be very expensive,” Evans said.

 ?? FRANK VAN MANEN/THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FILE PHOTO VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? This 2019 photo provided by the United States Geological Survey shows a grizzly bear and a cub along the Gibbon River in Yellowston­e National Park, Wyo.
FRANK VAN MANEN/THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FILE PHOTO VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS This 2019 photo provided by the United States Geological Survey shows a grizzly bear and a cub along the Gibbon River in Yellowston­e National Park, Wyo.

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