JACKSON, Wyo. — On Friday, Dec. 6, U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson ordered federal wildlife officials to decide by Jan. 20, 2025, whether grizzly bear populations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) should be delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Johnson’s order was addressed to the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The Court order is in response to “Wyoming’s request that the Court enforce the ESA’s statutory deadlines and require USFWS to make a final determination on the Yellowstone grizzly’s protected status.”
According to Governor Mark Gordon’s Office, Wyoming’s petition to remove the species’ “threatened” status was submitted in January 2022, after the GYE population was determined to be recovered in the region. Wyoming requested that the agency drop federal protections for grizzly bears in the GYE and put Wyoming, Montana and Idaho in charge of the species management in the Yellowstone region. The USFWS previously found the petition presented credible information.
Gordon said in a press release on Dec. 6 that the ESA states the USFWS must make a determination on a delisting petition within 12 months of its receipt. After multiple months of missed deadlines by USFWS, Wyoming filed suit in May 2023, asking the court to order the Department of Interior to issue a final determination on Wyoming’s petition. After Johnson’s order, Gordon urged the USFWS to honor the new deadline.
“This is a step towards returning rightful management of the GYE grizzly bear population back to the states,” Gordon’s release said. “It should not take a judge’s order for USFWS to meet deadlines, and I look forward to the process finally continuing. We have known for years that Wyoming’s grizzly bears have exceeded population goals and the State has met recovery criteria time and time again.”
A “warranted” finding would initiate a proposed delisting determination from the USFWS, and the public could comment before a final ruling. If the finding is “not warranted,” then no further action would be taken.
Grizzly bear habitat in the GYE encompass 34,375 square miles in northwestern Wyoming, southwestern Montana and eastern Idaho, the core of which is Yellowstone National Park, according to the National Park Service.
Center for Biological Diversity Senior Attorney Andrea Zaccardi told Buckrail that the USFWS’s determination will apply to all Wyoming grizzlies, since the entire population resides in the GYE, along with Montana and Idaho grizzly populations that are in the GYE.
“It may or may not apply to Montana and Idaho grizzly bears that are in other ecosystems outside of the GYE,” Zaccardi said. “If grizzlies are delisted in the GYE ecosystems, the states will gain management control for grizzlies in those ecosystems.”
Zaccardi said that the delisting of grizzlies in the GYE would pave the way for the animal to be hunted, with each state determining its own hunting regulations. Hunting would only be permitted outside of the national park.
“We simply can’t trust the states to manage the grizzly bear,” Zaccardi said. “We’ve seen how they have managed wolves. We are hopeful that Fish and Wildlife will follow science and determine that the grizzly bear is not recovered and should not be delisted at this time.”
USFWS Public Affairs Specialist Joe Szuszwalak told Buckrail that a similar petition filed by Montana regarding the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem is also being considered by the USFWS, as a related but legally separate matter.
