Three western states want to take over the management of federally protected grizzly bears, but opponents say it's too early.
What's happening?
Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana have all taken legal action to remove grizzlies from the Endangered Species List, Inside Climate News reported, explaining that this would shift management responsibilities from the federal government to these states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is responsible for the management of this list, says it will make its decision in January 2025.
"The states want to be in charge of management, and that is historically their role," Mike Leahy, senior director of Wildlife, Hunting, and Fishing Policy at the National Wildlife Federation, told the news site. "State agencies manage most species that aren't federally endangered, and they take a lot of pride in their ability to do so."
However, opponents of the delisting say that conditions are not quite right in the region, pointing to anti-carnivore legislation, aggressive hunting practices, and increasing human-bear conflict.
Plus, some bear researchers are concerned that the species lacks the resources it needs to survive and thrive without federal protections. For instance, warming temperatures have led to a decline in the Northern Rockies of the whitebark pine, which is one of the bear's crucial food sources. Other environmental concerns throughout the bear's range include excess fire suppression and pest infestations.
Why is it important to protect grizzly bears?
Grizzlies are a keystone species — an animal that helps define the ecosystem it lives in.
For instance, grizzly bears help disperse nutrients over large distances. As the National Geographic Society explains, these omnivores eat salmon and can deposit their carcasses miles from the rivers and streams where they were caught. As the fish bodies break down, they fertilize the soil with nutrients that may not be otherwise available in that environment.
Other ecosystem services provided by grizzly bears include regulating prey populations, aerating soil, and dispersing seeds, the National Park Service says.
Plus, these animals hold cultural and spiritual significance for a number of Native American tribes, which have opposed previous moves to delist the species.
However, grizzly bears now occupy less than 2% of their historic range in the lower 48 states, and their population has declined to just a few thousand from around 50,000, according to the Natural Resource Defense Council.
What's being done to protect grizzly bears?
There has been some progress in recovering grizzly bear populations across their range, and Leahy told Inside Climate News that delisting might be appropriate in certain zones, namely the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems. However, even in this scenario, the bears would remain off-limits to hunting within the boundaries of national parks.
Meanwhile, federal officials are reintroducing grizzly bears to the North Cascades in Washington state, a historic part of the animal's range, where it has not been sighted in almost three decades.
Plus, a number of individuals and groups are working to conserve and protect grizzly bears. One bear biologist in Montana is working on a unique premise: training "bear dogs" that help shepherd these large mammals away from human settlements to reduce conflicts and support coexistence.
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