Action Alerts

Grizzly bears still need our help

What's At Stake

Since coming into office, the Trump administration has taken several actions that strip away critical protections for imperiled species, like the iconic grizzly bear. These actions, coupled with a proposed Fish and Wildlife Service rule that shrinks grizzlies’ protected range and allows for increased killing of bears, could jeopardize grizzly recovery in the lower-48 states.  

Here at Earthjustice, we are ready to defend grizzly bears and advocate for their lasting recovery.  

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Once roaming from the Pacific to the Great Plains, grizzly bears were hunted to near extinction and now occupy only four percent of their historic range.  In 1975, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed this population of bears under the Endangered Species Act to save them from disappearing forever. These federal protections have been essential in fostering the slow recovery of grizzlies, however new threats have emerged that threaten their full recovery. States in grizzly country have adopted regressive anti-carnivore policies and allow for rampant human development in grizzly habitat, placing new stressors on the bear population.  

2024 emerged as the deadliest year for bears in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem since they were listed under the Endangered Species Act. Nearly every bear that died was killed directly by humans or after being trapped in manmade infrastructure. Now, the Fish and Wildlife Service is considering a rule that would shrink grizzly bears’ protected range and allow for more management killing and even trophy hunts of grizzlies. 

This proposed rule for grizzly bears comes in addition to several actions the Trump administration has already taken that will make matters worse for grizzlies.  The administration has already proposed a rule that would weaken the bedrock environmental law that grizzlies need to make a lasting recovery: the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This rule would rescind the decades-old  definition of “harm” that includes  habitat modification or destruction that kills or injures wildlife by impairing their ability to breed, feed, or shelter. 

The Trump administration also plans to expedite logging and mining, while diminishing or even waiving Endangered Species Act considerations for these same projects.  These actions would pave the way for extractive industries to destroy the habitats where  protected species like grizzly bears live. Each of these actions threatens substantial harm to grizzly bears by eliminating, bypassing, or steamrolling over habitat protections long guaranteed under the ESA. We need your help to stop these plans and urge the Department of Interior to consider the latest science and conservation practices to ensure grizzly bear recovery.  

A pair of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park (Todaysfotos / Shutterstock)
A pair of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park. (Todaysfotos / Shutterstock)

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