In line with a U.S. district court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has reinstated regulatory protections for the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. The area comprises 20 million acres in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
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Download NowIn 2005, FWS announced that grizzly bears in the area had made a “remarkable recovery.” In 1975, when the species was listed under the Endangered Species Act, the ecosystem population was estimated at 220 to 320 bears, and these animals were jeopardized by loss of habitat and high mortality from conflict with humans. Three decades later, FWS declared that the population had grown to 600 bears, that the grizzly was no longer threatened, and that delisting was appropriate.
The delisting prompted three lawsuits from conservation organizations. The plaintiffs claimed that FWS’s regulatory mechanisms to protect the grizzly once it is delisted are inadequate and that FWS did not sufficiently consider the impacts of climate change and other factors on whitebark pine nuts, a grizzly food source.
The Montana district court found merit in these arguments, vacated the delisting, and remanded it to FWS. The September 21, 2009, court order effectively terminated the delisting on that date. FWS’s final rule is an administrative step that includes re-listing the grizzly in the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR Part 17). With the re-listing, all grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are designated as threatened.
FWS says it is considering whether to appeal the court’s ruling.
FWS’s final rule re-listing the grizzly bear as threatened in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem was published in the March 26, 2010, Federal Register.