HELENA — Montana’s congressional delegation is calling on federal authorities to reverse a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision and move toward delisting grizzly bears from the Endangered Species Act.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines led 11 House and Senate members from Montana, Idaho and Wyoming who signed a letter to the new acting FWS director, Paul Souza. In it, they asked that the agency stop a proposed rule that would manage all grizzly bears in those states and in Washington as a single population – requiring the population across that area to recover further before delisting.
“Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks promulgated rules to ensure that proper guardrails are in place to protect and manage healthy grizzly bear populations throughout the state,” the letter said. “All of this collaborative work is undermined by FWS decision to yet again move the goalpost for delisting grizzly populations.”
FWS announced the proposed rules in January, in the final weeks before the Biden administration was replaced by the Trump administration. The agency announced at the same time that it was rejecting Montana and Wyoming’s petition to delist grizzlies and allow states to take over management.
“If the decision is made to proceed with a single DPS that combines all six recovery zones, there is no scientific argument that can be made that grizzly bears in the lower 48 are in danger of extinction,” the senators and representatives wrote. “Grizzly bears in our states number over 2,000, and these bears form the southern extent of the more than 60,000 grizzly bears extending through Canada to Alaska. From this healthy population, states can continue to work together on the return of the grizzly bears to the range that makes scientific sense for the long-term health of these bears.”
Daines was joined on the letter by Montana’s other three members of Congress: U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy and U.S. Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing.
