Grizzly delisting needed now
Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson to make a decision by January 20 on the threatened species status of the grizzly bear, we have doubts that is going to happen based on the agency’s actions in the past.
Both the states of Wyoming and Montana have been pushing for delisting.
More than two years ago, the USFWS was petitioned by the two states to make a decision on delisting by July 31, 2024, but the agency filed a declaration saying it couldn’t meet the deadline due to ongoing litigation in Montana and Idaho. We’ll see if a decision gets made this time or if it gets neglected again.
When the grizzly bear was first placed on the endangered species list in 1975, only 150 grizzlies were estimated to reside in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The original goal for recovery was 400 bears, and that number was upped to a goal of 500 as recovery progressed.
In 2023, Wyoming Game and Fish estimated the number of grizzlies in that ecosystem at more than 1,000 with other estimates saying 1,200 to 1,400 if the entire recovery area were included.
Even the Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, a nonprofit group fighting to keep federal protections for the grizzly bear, estimates there are about 2,200 grizzlies in the lower 48 states.
Grizzlies have expanded their territory over the years with grizzlies being sighted in the Big Horn Mountains and the Wind River Range.
The original goal in 1975 of 400-500 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem meant the bears had recovered sufficiently to remove them from endangered species protection.
Last year officials estimated the number of grizzlies in the ecosystem to be between 1,000 and 1,400. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the number of grizzlies in the ecosystem far exceeds what was originally said was necessary for recovery by three times.
The goal for recovery of the species has been greatly surpassed. The grizzly has recovered. It is time for the lawsuits and the gridlock to end.
And it’s past time for the USFWS to remove grizzlies from the endangered species list and return management of the grizzly to the states surrounding Yellowstone.