Keep Grizzly Bears Protected Under the Endangered Species Act

UPDATE (1/08/25): GOOD NEWS! President Joe Biden and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rejected Montana and Wyoming’s petition to delist grizzly bears. However, with a new administration taking office and state leaders from Montana and Wyoming vowing to continue their efforts to remove protections, it is crucial to keep raising awareness about this issue.

Before European colonization, an estimated 50,000 grizzly bears roamed the land that is now the United States. But by the 1970s, habitat loss and overhunting had driven them to the brink of extinction, reducing their range to just 2% of its former size and leaving only a handful of bears in Yellowstone and the lower 48 states. Thanks to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which granted grizzlies federal protection in 1975, their population has started to recover, growing to a few thousand individuals.

But now, politicians in key Western states, particularly Wyoming and Montana, are trying to undo decades of progress. They are pressuring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to remove grizzly bears from the Endangered Species List, putting them at risk of being hunted once again.

In 2023, Wyoming sued the Department of the Interior for failing to respond quickly to its petition to delist grizzlies. Governor Mark Gordon claims the bears have recovered and is pushing for their protections to be removed. Meanwhile, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte filed a similar petition to strip protections from grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE).

But population growth does not mean full recovery. If grizzlies are delisted, states, not federal agencies, will decide how they are "managed," which means they will have the authority to allow excessive hunting of the species. This isn’t about conservation. It is a political move designed to appease trophy hunters.

Experts warn that removing protections could lead to a dangerous decline in grizzly numbers, similar to what happened with Montana’s wolves. In some parts of the state, there are virtually no limits on wolf hunting. Grizzlies are already at risk from accidental killings, caught in traps set for other animals, mistaken for other species, or killed by hunting dogs. If Montana implements the same reckless policies for grizzlies that it did for wolves, the consequences could be devastating.

Wyoming’s push to delist grizzlies is especially troubling because many of these bears live in Yellowstone National Park, where they have never had to fear humans. If protections are removed, grizzlies that step outside park boundaries could be gunned down by waiting hunters. Yellowstone has long served as a testament to conservation and the damage that occurs when key predators are removed. Grizzly bears play an essential role in their ecosystems, regulating prey populations, dispersing seeds, aerating soil, and bringing significant tourism revenue to Western states. They also hold deep cultural importance for many Indigenous communities.

Despite their ecological and economic importance, the push to delist grizzlies is driven by greed. Trophy hunters want to kill these animals for sport, and the livestock industry falsely claims that grizzlies pose a major threat to cattle and sheep. In reality, government data shows that grizzly predation on livestock is rare and has little to no impact on ranching profits. The push to remove protections is not based on science. It is fueled by misinformation and political influence.

Fortunately, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not yet made a final decision. That means there is still time to act.

Take Action Now

Please join Species Unite in urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to keep grizzlies protected under the Endangered Species Act. Their recovery is not complete, and without these protections, they could face the same fate that nearly wiped them out decades ago. Let’s make sure they remain protected.