There were only about 136 bears around Yellowstone in 1975 when the grizzlies were first listed.
Special measures to protect the grizzly bears that roam the forests and mountains around Yellowstone National Park will be lifted this summer after what officials called one of the greatest conservation success stories in American history. Local governments will be responsible for determining how to handle problem bears and will have the option of opening up a hunting season for grizzlies.
The New York Times highlighted that many people find hunting of the highly intelligent grizzly bears "disturbing". Agitation for state management of grizzlies has also come from hunters, who highly prize them as trophy animals. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition issued a breaking news bulletin about the delisting, adding "We haven't seen the final rule yet".
Governor Matt Mead, as well as U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and Representative Liz Cheney, applauded the decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the grizzly bears within Yellowstone.
The states intend to allow limited bear hunts outside park boundaries.
But conservationists said the move comes too soon to be able to reliably judge the Yellowstone grizzly's recovery.
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"Grizzly bears have met or exceeded recovery objectives since 2003 and have long warranted delisting".
"Thanks to the team effort, grizzlies will be managed appropriately by our experts at Game and Fish". Their population plummeted starting in the 1850s because of widespread hunting and trapping, and the bears now occupy only 2 percent of their original territory. "Defenders of Wildlife is going through the delisting rule with a fine-toothed comb, and we will hold federal and state wildlife and land management agencies accountable for strong stewardship and management of grizzly bears and their habitat post delisting".
Environmental groups, however, have vowed to sue to stop the de-listing and local Native American Tribes also object to the move. "There's only one Yellowstone. We ought not to take an unjustified gamble with an iconic species of this region". The Fish and Wildlife Service tried to delist the bear in 2007, but was ordered by federal court decisions to reconsider its analysis because of a decline in white bark pine, a key bear food source that has been decimated by insects partly because of warmer temperatures in the region. The vision and intent is broader, and requires the Service to achieve true recovery of a species to the point at which the Act's protections are no longer necessary.
Advocates have spoken out against the federal government's decision, expressing worry over the future of the grizzly bears. "Grizzly bears are the slowest reproducing mammal on the planet, and a population decline can take decades to reverse".
That adaptation has meant switching from nuts to a meat-based diet.
The Center for Biological Diversity slammed the President Donald Trump's administration for the decision to delist the grizzly.
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