The federal government announced last month it will continue protecting endangered grizzly bears in the Rocky Mountains after challenges from Republican-led states.
Though the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will continue to protect the threatened species in recovery zones, the government is easing some protections for grizzlies related to human-bear conflicts. Ranchers outside of designated grizzly recovery zones are permitted to shoot the predators if they attack livestock or dogs, according to the Associated Press. State officials are also authorized to capture and relocate bears outside of recovery zones to prevent potential conflicts.
As part of the decision, the government also withdrew protections in states where grizzlies are no longer found, including California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon.
The decision was among the last from the Biden administration before President Donald Trump took office. However, the AP reported that the protections could be revisited under the Trump administration. During Trump's first term, his administration attempted to eliminate grizzly bear protections but was blocked by courts.
The AP reported that Republican officials in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming petitioned beginning in 2021 to reclaim state management of grizzly populations. Doing so would open the door to hunting grizzlies, though the AP noted state officials have claimed hunts would be "limited and not endanger the overall population."
Any change in grizzly protections would require an explicit exemption from the Endangered Species Act, which would likely be challenged by activists and conservationists in court, per the AP.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports an estimated 50,000 grizzly bears called the Western U.S. home before the 1800s. As humans moved across the country, grizzly populations were decimated via hunting and trapping. By 1975, only about 700 to 800 grizzly bears remained in the lower 48 states, according to the AP. The species was then named a threatened species.
Following decades of recovery efforts by FWS, there are more than 2,000 grizzlies in the lower 48. A larger population of grizzlies calls Alaska home, where hunting is allowed.
Grizzlies have greatly expanded their habitat in the lower 48 over the past several decades, moving into parts of western Washington. This movement has led to more attacks on livestock, per the AP.
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Definitely 👍 Experts say grizzlies are moving because of climate change impacts — including temperature shifts and related food scarcity — and human-caused habitat loss. Though grizzly populations have recovered in recent years, experts fear the species could be driven toward extinction again if protections are reduced.
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"We spent about $30 million and 45 years recovering grizzly bears to where they are," former FWS grizzly recovery coordinator Chris Servheen told the AP. "If they are delisted, it would turn around and they would again be on the verge of extinction."
Even with protections, humans are still the animals' biggest threat. The AP reported that every year dozens are killed by wildlife agents after livestock attacks, shot by hunters in self-defense, or hit by vehicles and trains.
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