EDITORIAL: Grizzly delisting proposal good news for Wyoming

Posted 3/8/16

In its announcement on Thursday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stated that the grizzly bear has recovered and “represents a historic success for partnership-driven wildlife conservation under the Endangered Species Act.”

Under the …

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EDITORIAL: Grizzly delisting proposal good news for Wyoming

Posted

Last week’s proposal by the federal government to remove the grizzly bear from the Endangered Species List is long awaited, and long overdue. 

In its announcement on Thursday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stated that the grizzly bear has recovered and “represents a historic success for partnership-driven wildlife conservation under the Endangered Species Act.”

Under the proposal, grizzly management would be turned over to Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, and hunting of the bears could begin in those states as early as next year. 

Currently, Wyoming Game and Fish has no plans to include hunting in its management plan. The Game and Fish commission would first have to look into it and consider public comment before allowing grizzly hunting — delisting merely allows for such decisions to be made. 

If hunting were permitted, it would be put on hold if bear populations fell below 600. 

Public comments on the delisting documents will be taken for 60 days.

Since the grizzly was listed as threatened in 1975, the grizzly population in Yellowstone National Park has increased from as few as 136 bears to 700 or more today. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, they likely number “north of 1,000,” according to Dan Ashe, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Many biologists believe the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has reached its carrying capacity for grizzlies. As the number of the bruins has increased, so have conflicts between humans and grizzlies, the most extreme being the fatal mauling of six people by grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since 2010. 

Conversely, a record 59 grizzlies in the ecosystem were killed by people last year, often by wildlife managers after the bears attacked livestock.

Despite these increasing conflicts, delisting the grizzly has proved difficult to impossible. The bears were removed from the Endangered Species List briefly in 2007, then relisted in 2009 by a federal judge in response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups.

We would like to see this time be different. 

While environmental groups often are distrustful of state management of endangered and recovering species, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department already is directly involved in managing grizzlies and has proven it has the ability and the know-how to do so responsibly. 

Too often, environmentalists use what-if or might-happen tactics in an attempt to derail delisting of species.

They have cited concerns that declines in whitebark pines could threaten grizzlies; however, research has shown that grizzlies are resourceful in finding other food when whitebark pine nuts are not available.

Some point to historic numbers, which ranged in the 10s of thousands — but those occurred when the grizzly roamed freely over much of the country. 

Some resort to fear mongering, saying that allowing grizzly hunting could result in reckless overkilling of the bears. But that won’t happen under this proposal, which has built-in population protections. If the grizzly population declined to 600 in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, all hunting for the bears would cease.  

It seems that many of these what-if type scenarios are counter-productive delay tactics. 

The fact is, grizzlies have recovered in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and it is time to allow states to mange them as such. 

The Western Governors Association, noting that the Endangered Species Act has had only a 1.3 percent success rate since its inception in 1973, passed a resolution last fall for improving the way endangered species are managed. 

The resolution calls for more state involvement in managing endangered and recovering species. 

“States bring a wealth of observational knowledge and information about the current status of a species and its habitat,” and state involvement in species recovery “will result in more durable and implementable solutions,” the resolution says.

The proposed delisting of the grizzly is a good step in the right direction, and we support and welcome it.

As U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said, “The West, not Washington (D.C.) is the most effective place to manage grizzly bears.” 

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