WYOMING — The State of Wyoming has filed a petition on behalf of Governor Mark Gordon for judicial review in the Wyoming Federal District Court that alleges the Department of Interior (DOI) failed to meet the 12 month deadline for determining whether or not to delist the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE).
The grizzly bear was first listed as “threatened” in 1975 under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), making it illegal to harm, harass or kill grizzly bears except in cases of self defense or the defense of others. In 2017, GYE grizzlies lost federal protections, but a judge restored them in 2018 before the species was hunted in Wyoming and Idaho.
According to a press release from Governor Gordon’s office, Wyoming’s petition to delist the grizzly bear was submitted in January 2022 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). This request asserted that the GYE grizzly bear population was recovered enough to qualify as their own distinct population segment.
In February of this year, the USFWS determined that two of three petitions filed to delist contained substantial information and initiated further study, but the ESA provides that the USFWS should make a determination on a delisting petition within 12 months of its receipt, regardless of when the initial finding is published.
Now, Wyoming is asking the court in its petition to order the DOI to issue a final determination after delaying the action for over a year.
“Wyoming’s grizzly bear numbers have not only greatly increased but have exceeded population goals for years, and it’s time for the delisting process to move forward,” Governor Gordon said in his press release. “The Fish and Wildlife Service has missed the required 12 month determination deadline, and it’s time for the agency to be held accountable.”
According to the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), despite an increase in numbers since the original ESA listing, grizzly bears still occupy less than six percent of their former range in the lower 48. In addition to human-caused mortality, the CBD confirms loss of major food sources due to climate change and genetic isolation are increasing threats to grizzly populations.
“Delisting grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies is premature,” Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, said in a press release from the organization. “Equally concerning, delisting would condemn these vitally important animals to the whim of current state politics in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho where they are openly hostile to predator species like grizzly bears.”
Removing federal protections for grizzly bears would return management to the state.
Because of the protection currently still afforded to grizzly bears under the ESA, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the USFWS’ authorization of the killing of up to 72 grizzly bears on public land outside of Yellowstone National Park violated federal law.
