During a publicized ceremony in Big Sky, Montana last week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stood beside the governors of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to declare a fundamental shift in the way grizzly bear populations are managed in the Lower 48. “Like me, President Trump believes that the people that are closest to the land, closest to the wildlife they’re protecting, should be the closest to providing solutions,” Burgum said from the podium.
In order to implement the shift, the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) is revising a portion of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) known as the 4(d) Rule. The proposed revisions allow the three Lower 48 states with recognized grizzly bear populations—Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming—greater leeway and authority when handling issues caused by human-grizzly conflict.
This falls short of actually removing the bear from the ESA. And it will not open grizzly bear hunting seasons in the Lower 48.
Many groups are celebrating the move. But others have expressed skepticism, particularly given the Interior Department’s recent removal of wildlife habitat protections long-ingrained in the ESA—and its ongoing track record of revoking key protections for federally managed public lands.
Chris Servheen worked as a top grizzly bear biologist at the US Fish & Wildlife Service for more than three decades. During his career, he oversaw federal grizzly bear recovery efforts. And he played a key role in successfully de-listing them twice, before courts overruled USFWS delisting decisions.
“In my 40-plus years of being a conservation practitioner, I have never seen the callous disregard for nature, animals, and wild places that we have in this Administration,” Servheen said during a Q&A with Todd Wilkinson of the Yellowstonian. Sevheen opposes the move and says it will kill grizzly bear recovery in a few years. “Every single policy of this Administration is destructive to wildlife, wildlife and fish habitat and the cherished wild lands we are so fortunate to have in America.”
Notable support for Burgum’s effort to transfer grizzly management to the states via 4(d) revisions comes from the Boone & Crockett Club. “The Boone and Crockett Club celebrates today’s proposed rule for grizzly bear conservation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” the organization said in a press release issued the day of the ceremony. “It is an innovative fix for the current stalemate in which bears have recovered but have not been removed from the list of Threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.”
Read Next: White House Order Cuts Millions of Acres from National Monuments in Utah
The Fish & Wildlife Service will now hold a 30-day comment period on its historic revisions to grizzly bear management. Field & Stream will continue to cover this developing story.
THE 1871 CLUB
