The federal government might remove grizzly bears from the endangered species list as early as January, but some western states say that’s not soon enough.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently delayed the ruling by six months, saying it needs more time to deal with the tangle of legal issues raised by Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
But in a strongly worded response from Wyoming filed last week, the state’s attorney wrote the feds’ “willingness to flout the law knows no bounds” and that the delay “reeks of arrogance and entitlement.”
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has said management should go back to the states now that grizzly bears have reached population targets in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and their range has expanded.
“Wyoming has a sound, proven plan in place to assume management of grizzly bears; it is the Service [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] that cannot produce what they have promised,” Gordon said in a written statement.
Andrea Zaccardi, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said Wyoming is catering to the hunting and agricultural crowds, instead of the bears. Wyoming officials have said they plan to open up grizzly bear hunting if the species is delisted.
Plus, Zaccardi said the population hasn’t completely rebounded. There’s still four distinct bear populations in the region.
“In the Northern Rockies, they’re not connected to each other,” Zaccardi said. “It’s not ideal in terms of recovery.”
The state is calling on the Department of Interior to move up a decision to the end of October. Zaccardi said if protections for grizzlies are removed, her group will likely sue to get them reinstated.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
