Allow Grizzly Bears to Roam: Oppose SB 85

This bill seeks to improve the likelihood the US Fish and Wildlife Service will recommend that grizzly bears in Montana be delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by directing Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) to manage for all sources of mortality, including hunting, in order to maintain the grizzly population above federal recovery minimums. Although this bill contains some good additional statutory language and direction, it fails to address a major defect in the statute it is revising. Current statute, which this bill leaves unchanged, directs FWP to “use proactive management to control grizzly bear distribution” (MCA 87-5-301(2)(c)). This provision indicates FWP will trap and relocate or euthanize bears just for being present in certain geographies, like the Missouri River Breaks, regardless of whether the bear is involved in conflicts. This is unacceptable and violates scientifically sound wildlife management principles. Placing geographic limits on grizzly bear distribution is completely at odds with how FWP manages all other native wildlife species. It is also contrary to commitments FWP has made in federal recovery strategies and elsewhere. Until the bill removes the language limiting grizzly bear distribution, GTMA will oppose this otherwise good legislation.