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Despite Court Ruling, Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Officially Lose Endangered Species Protection; Can Be Hunted
The Trump administration, led by corporate-owned Ryan Zinke ruining the Department of Interior, is removing Endangered Species Act protections for Yellowstone grizzly bears, after more than 42 years on the endangered species list.
U.S. officials will not restore federal protections for Yellowstone-area grizzly bears, despite a court ruling that called into question the government's rationale for turning grizzly management over to states that are now planning public hunts for the animals, according to an announcement Friday [April 27, 2018]....
The disclosure from the Interior Department follows a months-long review of a decision last year to lift protections in place since 1975 for about 700 bears in and around Yellowstone National Park.
Legal hunting of Yellowstone-area grizzlies last occurred in the 1970s.
Wyoming and Idaho have proposed limited public hunts for grizzlies this fall. Hunters would be allowed to kill as many as ten male bears and two females in Wyoming and one male and no females in Idaho. Final decisions on the hunts are pending. Montana officials decided against a hunt this year.
The population of grizzlies has recovered to an extent but is no where near its historical levels.
An estimated 50,000 Grizzlies once roamed much of North America. Most were killed off by hunters in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
"They still occupy less than 5 percent of their historical range. That's just not recovery," said Andrea Santarsiere with the Center for Biological Diversity.
Conservation groups and Native American Indian tribes have challenged the lifting of protections in federal court. They argue that killing grizzly bears would diminish the chances of Yellowstone's bears re-populating other areas where grizzlies once roamed.
ACTION: Visit savetheyellowstonegrizzly.org
Organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Coucil, 350.org, the Sierra Club will be fighting hard against this administration. Read up on their work at their web sites, follow them on Twitter, and give a donation to them or similar groups. We need environmental groups to be well funded to fight this fight. Their web sites have concrete ways you can get involved beyond giving them money if this fighting for this cause drives you.