Interior Dept. Proposes Expanding State Authority Over Grizzly Bear Management

The Interior Department has proposed a major policy shift that would give Western state fish-and-game agencies more authority over grizzly bear management in the Lower 48 states.

While grizzlies remain listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), this could set the stage for future efforts to fully delist some populations and potentially allow regulated hunting.

The announcement by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik was made in core grizzly bear habitat just north of Yellowstone National Park, with Western governors in attendance.

While details of specific management changes are virtually non-existent — the federal rules will be published on Friday — the Interior Department stresses that it is not removing grizzly bears from federal protections under the Endangered Species Act. Rather, it is proposing “to clarify the geographic area where grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are subject to protection under the Endangered Species Act.”...