Earthjustice Statement on Fish & Wildlife Service’s Grizzly Bear Decision

Today the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) rejected petitions from the states of Wyoming and Montana to strip federal Endangered Species Act protections from grizzly bears in the Northern Rocky Mountains. It also announced a proposed rule to shrink the geographic scope of where grizzly bears will retain federal protections.

The following is a statement from Drew Caputo, Earthjustice Vice President of Litigation for Lands, Wildlife, and Oceans:

“We applaud the Fish and Wildlife Service for following the science and keeping grizzly bears protected. The best-available science shows that grizzly bears are not recovered, and the states have a demonstrated record of failing to manage grizzly bears responsibly. Even with federal protections in place, in 2024 we saw more grizzly bears killed by humans than in any year since their listing 50 years ago. Grizzlies face increasing threats, including habitat loss, climate change, and human-wildlife conflicts. Stripping them of federal protections now would only raise their death count and threaten to reverse decades of conservation work.

“The details are important. We are reviewing the implications of the Distinct Population Segment designation and the proposed rule carefully and intend to participate vigorously in the rulemaking process to ensure that grizzly bears can achieve a lasting recovery.”

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of a petition filed by Earthjustice and 14 national, regional, and state environmental, tribal, and animal welfare groups asking the USFWS to adopt a new approach to recovering grizzly bears in the U.S. Northern Rockies. The petition, filed in December, details site-specific management actions necessary to aid in the bears’ recovery and calls for a new approach to managing the bears as one unified population with natural connectivity between ecosystems, rather than continuing with the existing practice of managing isolated populations of bears.