Wyoming Game And Fish Working On New Steps To Delist Grizzly Bears In Yellowstone

Grizzly Bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem could soon no longer be a protected species under a new plan being worked on by three states.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has approved a revised tri-state Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) regarding the management and allocation of discretionary mortality of bears in the area.

The new MOA recognizes the expanding number of grizzly bears that have grown beyond the edges of the bear’s biological and socially suitable range.

With refined population estimates, data shows the population numbers of more than 1,000 bears, are far beyond all scientific requirements for a recovered, viable population.

Back in 1975, there were about 100 bears in the area.

The revisions also include an explicit commitment to grizzly bear’s long-term genetic health and will provide for translocation of bears into the population, as needed, to maintain genetic diversity. 

The MOA will still need approval from Idaho and Montana through their respective Commissions and directors before Wyoming files a delisting petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 2018 a federal judge reinstated protection for grizzly bears.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon says he supports the MOA, and says “wildlife management is best placed in the hands of states, not the federal government.”