The decision to restore endangered species protections to grizzly bears and stop this year’s hunt in its tracks has been met with dismay by Wyoming officials and cheers from conservation groups.
A district judge ruled from Montana on Sept. 24 that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service overstepped its legal authority when it removed Yellowstone-area grizzly bears from the threatened species list. The ruling found the Service had failed to consider best available science when it made the decision to delist the bears in 2017 and return control of their management to the states.
With that power, Wyoming and Idaho decided to institute the first grizzly hunt held in over 40 years. The hunt, which would have allowed for up to 23 bears to be killed, would have started on Sept. 1 but was blocked by two emergency restraining orders pending litigation brought by conservation and animal rights organizations and Native American tribes.
By reinstating Endangered Species Act protections, the ruling returns the management of the ursines to the federal government and blocks Wyoming and Idaho from holding legal hunts.
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said in a statement he was “disappointed” with the decision, noting the state has already invested $50 million in grizzly bear recovery and management.
“Biologists correctly determined grizzly bears no longer needed ESA protections,” Mead said. “The decision to return grizzly bears to the list of threatened and endangered species is further evidence that the ESA is not working as its drafters intended. Congress should modernize the ESA so we can celebrate successes and focus our efforts on species in need.”
Other officials agreed.
“Wildlife experts and federal officials have agreed that the grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region have been fully recovered for years,” Sen. Mike Enzi said in a release. “It is disappointing that the state of Wyoming and U.S. Fish and Wildlife services have once again seen their well-researched attempts to delist a recovered species struck down by a federal judge. As the grizzly bear population has increased in Wyoming, so has the danger to livestock, property and humans. That is why it was so important that management of the species be in the hands of the state. I hope that a quick resolution to keep the Yellowstone grizzly bears delisted can be implemented.”
Grizzlies were first listed as threatened in 1975 when their population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem dropped to 136 bears. It has since recovered to approximately 700 bears. Given an estimated 50,000 grizzly bears once lived in the area now the U.S., some felt the move to instate a trophy hunt was premature.
Western Watersheds Project, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Native Ecosystems Council, nonprofits who were included in the lawsuit, release a joint media statement in affirmation of the District Court decision.
“Americans love the grizzly bears and want to see them meaningfully recovered before they lose their Endangered Species Act protections,” said Josh Osher, Montana director of Western Watersheds Project. “We couldn’t be happier to see federal protection restored by today’s ruling, which affirms that sound science and the rule of law still trump political meddling in species recovery decisions.”
