Hageman Blasts Fish and Wildlife Service for New Grizzly Bear Delisting Policy
Washington, DC – Representative Harriet Hageman condemned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for today’s arbitrary decision to refuse to delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) grizzly bear populations. Rather than delisting the grizzly as local authorities have advocated, FWS has proposed creating a single Distinct Population Segment (DPS) that combines all six recovery zones, including those well outside of the GYE. This bureaucratic sleight of hand represents a brazen shift in criteria and an effort to bury the fact that Wyoming has successfully protected a recovered grizzly population for over two decades. This approach not only violates the law by ignoring historical recovery goals and the viability of Wyoming’s grizzly management plan, but it is also contrary to the FWS’s own data and undermines the very purpose of the ESA.
“The GYE grizzly population far exceeds the long-standing recovery goals as set by the Fish and Wildlife Service itself,” said Rep. Hageman. “Yet unelected bureaucrats at the agency are yet again putting politics over science by shifting the goalposts on their own recovery policies. In July, Deputy Director Stephen Guertin testified to me under oath that he would provide an answer on Wyoming’s delisting petition that month. We finally received that answer today. In addition to rejecting Wyoming’s petition to delist, which is fully supported by the experts on grizzly recovery and management, they are pursuing a bogus policy change from behind their taxpayer-purchased desks in Washington. The fact that they are willing to ignore both the law and the science speaks volumes as to their real agenda—which isn’t to recover endangered or threatened species but to control land use and resource development. That is why I’m reintroducing legislation to delist the grizzly bear at the federal level this week.”
Background:
The GYE grizzly bear has been listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since 1975, with an initial recovery goal of 500 bears. Today, the population has soared to over 1,100. Despite this success, FWS continues to delay delisting, ignoring recovery data and Wyoming’s proven ability to manage wildlife responsibly. FWS’s decision to consolidate six recovery zones into a single DPS undermines years of progress and distracts from the urgent need to address overpopulation at the state level, which has led to an uptick in grizzly bear attacks on livestock and people across Wyoming. Rep. Hageman has long championed delisting and introduced the Grizzly Bear State Management Act last Congress to restore authority to the states, where it belongs.
Contact: Esteban Elizondo, Communications Director