Westerman Slams USFWS Grizzly Bear Decision

Today the U.S. Fish and Wildife Service (USFWS) announced their refusal to delist grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone (GYE) and Northern Continental Divide (NCDE) ecosystems and two related proposals. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"The only reasonable announcement by the USFWS today would have been a total delisting of the grizzly bear in these ecosystems. USFWS is blatantly ignoring science in their decision by hiding behind bureaucratic red tape. Their decision endangers communities, especially farmers and ranchers, who live under the threat of grizzly bear attacks. The proposed management flexibility comes as too little, too late, and is a step that should have been taken long ago. The committee will be looking to use all tools in the toolbox to reverse this decision and delist the recovered species."

Background

Today, the USFWS announced three separate actions regarding the grizzly bear. The first is denying the petitions of the states of Montana and Wyoming to delist the species in the GYE and NCDE. The second is a proposal to create one distinct population segment (DPS), where grizzlies would be listed as threatened. It includes all six recovery zones and areas surrounding them, encompassing most of the land area of the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. All bears outside of the proposed DPS would be considered delisted. Finally, the USFWS has proposed an update to the 4(d) rule to give more management options to the states and private landowners.

This announcement comes after years of hard work by the states of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho to recover grizzly bear populations in the GYE and NCDE. These efforts have been so successful that grizzlies are being seen in places they have not been seen in over a century, with populations in the GYE and NCDE both nearly double their recovery goals. This is why in the 118th Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed legislation that would delist both populations.

Additionally, in the 118th Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources advanced legislation to make critical reforms to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), clarify existing definitions and establish an environmental baseline to measure ESA outcomes. It would also incentivize the recovery of listed species, promote species conservation on private and public lands and create greater transparency and accountability in the ESA regulatory process. Learn more about the legislation here.