A group of Idaho lawmakers proposed new legislation that would allow states to manage grizzly bears instead of federal agencies
A woman died outside Yellowstone National Park in a bear encounter less than a week ago, and several U.S. senators say this is happening too frequently.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks confirmed finding grizzly bear tracks near the woman’s body. The bears, which are typically 6 feet tall and 800 pounds heavy, are on the endangered species list, but several Republican lawmakers want to remove them.
On Thursday, Republican lawmakers Sen. Jim Risch and Sen. Mike Crapo and Rep. Russ Fulcher of Idaho, as well as Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming proposed a bill, the Grizzly Bear Review and Resource Restart Act, to remove the grizzly bear from the endangered species list.
The National Park Service estimates that the chances of such an encounter are 1 in 2.7 million visits — since 1979, 44 people have been injured.
Grizzly bears were added to the Endangered Species Act in 1975, a time when hunting brought the population down to roughly 800 bears. Now, nearly 2,000 grizzly bears roam the lower 48 states.
“Increasing grizzly bear and human encounters make it even more important to act now. The Grrr Act will take much needed action to delist grizzly bears and focus resources on animals that are truly endangered or at risk,” said Risch, according to a press release.
If delisted, this wouldn’t be the first time. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed federal protections for grizzly bears in 2007, only to be reversed less than two years later. The second time was in 2017 when the U.S. Interior Secretary delisted grizzlies in the Yellowstone area. And again, a year later, the protections were restored in Wyoming and Idaho.
But efforts to delist the animal continued. In February 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will review Montana and Wyoming’s petition to delist the animal, stating that the areas “may qualify as their own distinct population segment and may warrant removal from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife.”
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte embraced the news with an announcement.
“As part of that conservation success, the federal government has accepted our petition to delist the grizzly in the (Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem), opening the door to state management of this iconic American species,” he said at the time.
But Idaho’s petition was denied, which is why the state’s lawmakers resumed proposing legislative solutions.
“Idaho’s wildlife is best managed at the local level through collaborative efforts among federal, state and tribal entities,” said Crapo. “The grizzly’s current (Endangered Species Act) status rejects the reality of the recovered population within the grizzly’s historic range and ignores current management practices backed by science and common sense.”
There are other bills seeking to delist the grizzly bear, like a grizzly bear management act that a group of lawmakers from Idaho, Wyoming and Montana introduced in February.
But wildlife conservation organizations, like WildEarth Guardians, have opposed these efforts.
“Just as Congress breaks for the August recess, lawmakers from Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana are ramping up their attacks on grizzly bears, even as deaths continue to climb this year,” said Adam Rissien, rewilding manager at WildEarth Guardians, in a statement on Friday.
“These anti-wildlife Republicans are proposing to remove Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears with more bills and an amendment to must-pass funding legislation, even as grizzly bear mortalities reach almost 30 from the Northern Continental Divide and Greater Yellowstone populations.”
Yet lawmakers like Risch and Crapo argue that the grizzly population has clearly rebounded and the proposed law will restructure conservation efforts.
“The Grizzly Bear Review and Resource Restart Act will begin a clean process in assessing the true management needs of the Grizzly bear,” said Fulcher.
Source: Deseret
