Martha Williams, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said a law allowing grizzlies to be killed if they attack livestock was inconsistent with the state's commitment to bear conservation.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said state officials provided “substantial” information that grizzlies have recovered from the threat of extinction in the regions surrounding Yellowstone and Glacier national parks.
Williams told the head of Montana’s wildlife agency in a Wednesday letter that a law allowing grizzlies to be killed if they attack livestock was inconsistent with the state's commitment to bear conservation. She said the 2023 legislative session offered a “good opportunity” to address such problems.
In Wyoming, almost 1,500 people applied for 12 grizzly bear licenses in 2018 before the hunt was blocked in federal court. About a third of the applicants came from out of state. Idaho issued just one grizzly license before the hunt was blocked.Republican lawmakers in the region in recent years also adopted more aggressive policies against gray wolves, including loosened trapping rules that could lead to grizzlies being inadvertently killed.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte welcomed the administration’s announcement and said it could lead to the state reclaiming management of a species placed under federal protection in 1975. He said the grizzly’s recovery “represents a conservation success.” Those groups want federal protections kept in place and no hunting allowed so bears can continue moving into new areas.
“You have so many opinions and some of them are not based on science, but the biologists are the ones that know the facts about what the populations are and what should be considered a goal for each area,” Evans said. “If you're going to manage grizzly bears, there's a sustainable number that needs to be kept in balance. I'm not a biologist, but I would follow the science.”
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