The removal of 700 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from the protections of the Endangered Species Act has stalled after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife received more than 650,000 comments. Many comments from American Indian Tribes and animal-rights supporters expressed unwarranted fears that the recovered animals would again face extinction despite successful scientific management of every other game animal on the continent.
Last year, the Sportsmen’s Alliance twice submitted comments in support of delisting the distinct population of grizzly bears and returning them to state management in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The action would open the possibility of closely monitored hunting for grizzlies, but within guidelines that assure no detrimental impact to the overall population in each state.
The delisting from federal protections and return of grizzlies to state management would apply to a distinct population of recovered grizzly bears found in an area around, but not in, Yellowstone National Park. The population of bears has surpassed recovery goals in both population benchmarks and duration of time meeting those goals, proving that the population is not just recovered, but stable and growing. Moreover, more than 100 grizzly bears have been killed for depredation of livestock or attacks on humans in the last two years – a significant number indicative of the population having reached social tolerance levels within the available habitat.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.