YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — The recent translocation of two grizzly bears from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in Montana to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) in Wyoming is part of a multi-state effort to increase the species’ genetic diversity and recovery.
On July 30, a subadult female was released in the Blackrock drainage approximately 35 miles northwest of Dubois. On July 31, Yellowstone National Park personnel released a subadult male, within the park boundaries, in a remote area south of Yellowstone Lake. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) received the subadult female and Yellowstone National Park received the subadult male.
Both bears were captured in a remote portion of northwest Montana by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). According to FWP, the bears were transported safely and securely in a large, ventilated metal cage. The bears selected for the translocation had no history of conflict and will be monitored through a GPS collar. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team will continue regular genetic monitoring of the GYE population.
On Friday, August 2, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon announced that the bear relocation was successful and the state would continue to work to increase grizzly populations in the Yellowstone region. Governor Gordon petitioned the federal government to take the grizzly bear off of the endangered species list in the GYE in January, 2022.
“Here in Wyoming, people know that the grizzly bear has recovered,” Governor Gordon said in an announcement. “Its range has expanded and its numbers have increased. This effort assures genetic connection can be achieved through active management to address the court’s requirement where a healthy number of grizzlies, and an ever-expanding range have not been sufficiently convincing to the Ninth Circuit.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that the agency will not make any decisions about the grizzly’s delisting status until this January. While both Wyoming and Montana have engaged in legal efforts to delist the grizzly, courts so far have ruled against the delisting. In 2019, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Crow Indian Tribe v. United States that the FWS must ensure the long-term genetic diversity of the GYE’s grizzly bear population.
The translocations were the result of a commitment between Wyoming, Montana and Idaho under the Tri-State Memorandum of Agreement.
