Grizzly hunts might soon be coming in three states

HELENA, Mont. — Hunters soon could be chasing grizzly bears across the ridges of the Rocky Mountains, leaving three states to drum up plans to ensure the iconic species won’t be snuffed out soon after recovering from threats to their survival.

The Obama administration in March proposed lifting protections for the more than 700 grizzlies around Yellowstone National Park. The bears have been considered a threatened species since 1975, but federal wildlife officials say that population has sufficiently recovered to turn over management to Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

Those states and others use hunting and trapping to manage wildlife populations from elk to wolves, setting quotas with the aim of preventing overpopulation. Charging hunters and trappers for licenses provides a revenue source for state wildlife agencies.

Before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service makes a final decision on grizzly protections by March 2017, it is requiring the three states to outline what their grizzly hunting seasons would look like.

The states came up with a plan late last year to guide their individual proposals, including reviewing the bear population each year, stopping hunting if the grizzlies’ overall numbers drop below 600 and banning hunting of female bears with their young.

“This is a historic undertaking because we don’t manage any other species like this,” Idaho Department of Fish and Game spokesman Gregg Losinski said.

Montana’s Fish and Wildlife Commission gave its initial OK Thursday to the three-state plan and the state’s proposed hunting season rules.

Wyoming’s Fish and Game Commission approved a grizzly management plan Wednesday and still must come up with its own hunting rules. Idaho officials plan to discuss the matter next week.

Wildlife activists say the bear population is still too fragile for hunting.

Outside the Yellowstone area, other grizzly populations in Montana, Idaho and Washington state will remain protected.

MARC COOKE/WOLVES OF THE ROCKIES VIA AP A grizzly is sighted in 2012 near the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Three states, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, are getting ready for the possible return of grizzly bear hunting in the Rocky Mountains for the first time in four...