MONTANA — Governor Mark Gordon was in Montana yesterday for a joint press conference alongside Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Idaho Governor Brad Little and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
The three Republican governors and Burgum announced a proposed shift in grizzly bear management from the federal to the state level. However, the proposal would not delist the grizzly bear from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Brian Nesvik. Other media reports are speculating as to how this shift would actually work and what it would entail.
The officials lauded recovery efforts of the grizzly bear while standing on a windy platform north of Yellowstone National Park. Behind a sign that read, “Return management to the states,” Burgum discussed how proposed revisions to the 4(d) rule of the ESA would allow states to be in charge of grizzly population management. Gianforte stated that grizzly population numbers were in the 100s back in the 1970s, and they have rebounded to 2,000 today. Gordon likened the ESA to academic probation, saying that it’s time for the bear to graduate.
“You’ve heard over 2,000 bears; we have over 1,000 bears alone in Wyoming,” Gordon said. “And it is important to recognize when success happens — something Western governors have talked about for a long time. And more importantly, this bear was delisted twice before. … And each time, it’s been put back on this academic probation list. As I said, it’s time it graduates. This is a success story.”
Gordon said that the state of Wyoming has spent over $67 million on grizzly management since 1977. He noted that state wildlife agencies have done the “lion’s share of management” to support recovery.
The Missoula Current reported that only two of seven recovery populations have 1,000 bears: the Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Continental Divide. The five other populations are isolated and struggling to recover. Greg LeDonne, Idaho director of the Western Watersheds Project, blasted Burgum’s proposal.
“This is a decision being made for political reasons, it is not based on science, in the best interest of the survival of the species, or in compliance with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act,” LeDonne said in a statement. “It’s clearly too soon to remove federal protections in light of the continued lack of connectivity, ongoing habitat destruction and modification due to climate change, and record numbers of grizzly bear mortalities in 2025 even under existing protections.”
At Tuesday’s press conference, Burgum drove home the idea that management decisions should be made closer to the land and the populations they serve. The FWS website states that the revised rule under 4(d) of the ESA would provide management flexibility for grizzlies in specific areas, while “maintaining existing protections and supporting long-term conservation.”
“Grizzly bear recovery has reached the constructive point where management, not just protection, must lead the next chapter,” said Jess Johnson, government affairs director for the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. “This is a milestone and a call to action. It recognizes decades of conservation success and creates an opportunity for states to carry that success forward through active, science-based management.”
The FWS proposal argues that migration between distinct grizzly populations and connectivity have reached the point where the groups can be managed as one population. Many contend that is not yet the case. The proposed actions will be published in the Federal Register on July 17 and the public comment period will be open through August 17.
