BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration will continue protecting about 2,000 grizzly bears in four Rocky Mountain states despite objections from Republican-led states, U.S. wildlife officials said Wednesday.
The Associated Press obtained details of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision in advance of a planned public announcement.
Federal officials also said they will reclassify the grizzly’s status so that ranchers would be able to shoot bears that are killing livestock. Officials also will end protections for the animals in states where they’re no longer found, including California, Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon.
The fearsome bruins have been protected as a threatened species across the lower 48 states since 1975. Officials during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term sought to eliminate those protections, but were blocked in court.
Republican officials in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service beginning in 2021 seeking to reclaim state management of the grizzly population. That would have opened the door to public hunts, although state officials said they would be limited and not endanger the overall population.
Federal officials said they will work toward ending protections eventually, but declined to offer a timeline.
“This reclassification will facilitate recovery of grizzly bears and provide a stronger foundation for eventual delisting,” Martha Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director, said in a statement.
Grizzlies greatly expanded their range over the past several decades, including in parts of western Washington state. That’s led to more conflicts between humans and bears, including periodic attacks on livestock and, rarely, on people.
U.S. government scientists concluded years ago that the bear population in parts of the West — including around Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks — had biologically recovered. But there’s been concern that state wildlife laws wouldn’t be enough to protect the animals.
An estimated 50,000 grizzlies once roamed portions of 18 western states stretching from Texas to the Canadian border. They were wiped out in most areas by overhunting and trapping.
By 1975, only about 700 to 800 bears remained in the lower 48 states.
Following intensive recovery efforts led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there are now more than 2,000 grizzlies in the lower 48 states and larger populations in Alaska, where hunting is allowed.
Prior attempts to lift protections — in 2007 and 2017 — were blocked in federal court. In 2021, federal officials decided protections were still needed because of pressures such as the number of bear deaths caused by humans. Authorities reconsidered over the past two years at the request of governors in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said there was “substantial” evidence grizzlies have recovered from the threat of extinction in the regions surrounding Yellowstone and Glacier national parks.
After the species temporarily lost protection in the Yellowstone region in 2017, Wyoming and Idaho scheduled hunts.
In Wyoming, almost 1,500 people applied for 12 grizzly bear licenses. Idaho issued just one license before the hunts were blocked without any grizzlies being killed.
Federal officials also raised concerns about laws from Republican-led states that could potentially harm grizzly populations. Among them was a Montana law allowing grizzlies to be killed if they attack livestock.
Certain states also have pursued aggressive policies against gray wolves, including loosened wolf trapping rules that some scientists fear could lead to grizzlies being inadvertently trapped and killed.
