Grizzly bears are an essential piece of the American West, a wildlife icon that has been integral to the Yellowstone region for centuries. They embody true wilderness.
Right now, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is evaluating whether to delist the Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide grizzly bear populations from the federal Endangered Species Act protections that will hinder their continued recovery and allow for more killing of bears, both by ranchers and through the return of trophy hunts.
There are many actions we can take to protect these iconic species—including expanding public lands and building wildlife corridors to protect the ecosystems and habitats these bears rely on. For those to be effective, we must make sure that this keystone species is protected from hunting!
Endanged Species Act delisting would undo decades of hard conservation work. Conservation efforts must continue as we work for long-term grizzly recovery. Write a public comment to the USFWS and tell them to not to remove grizzly bears as an endangered species!
IMPORTANT: Don't forget to add a personal comment to tell the USFWS who you are and why this issue is matters to you by directly editing the message in the message box. Some additional talking points:
- Grizzlies are the second slowest reproducing mammal in North America, and among the slowest reproducing species worldwide. It takes a female grizzly bear ten years to replace herself in the population.
- Grizzlies in the Yellowstone region have been both geographically and demographically isolated from other bear populations for 100 years. Existing state management plans don't allow them to connect to other grizzly populations–we must develop plans that do.
- Today there are only two sizeable populations in the lower 48 -- the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems. Despite progress in recovering grizzly bears, now is not the time to remove protections.