WYOMING – Wyoming Senators Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso along with Governor Mark Gordon have each announced their support for removing grizzly bears from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) conducts an in-depth review of grizzly status.
On Feb. 3, the USFWS announced further consideration for delisting the grizzly bear in the lower 48 States after initial review of petitions presenting success of grizzly populations. Removing federal protections for grizzly bears would return management to the state and create future hunting opportunities of grizzlies in Wyoming.
“This announcement is welcome news for Wyoming. Grizzly bears of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, by all scientific measures, are fully recovered,” Lummis said in a press release following the USFWS decision to investigate removal.
Barrasso posted in a tweet, “The science is clear: the grizzly bear is fully recovered in Wyoming. Wyoming’s good work and sound management practices have proven to be successful. It’s time for Wyoming, not Washington, to be in charge of managing the bear.”
Congresswoman Harriet Hageman has not yet made a public statement in regards to the USFWS’s announcement on Feb. 3.
Gordon also pushed for state management of grizzlies that would follow the Endangered Species Act’s (ESA) post-delisting protocol and honor the grizzly bear as a successful and iconic Wyoming species. “This is a positive step and I thank the Service,” Gordon said in a statement issued by his office. “Wyoming has an established framework to provide adequate protection and management of the bear in the future…and I hope that Wyoming will soon manage this species as a part of our treasured wildlife populations.”
The USFWS will spend the next 12 months analyzing scientific data before coming to a conclusion on whether delisting the grizzly bear is warranted. ESA protection removal would then require a separate rulemaking decision.
