This statement is in response to the recent USFWS Proposed Update to Grizzly Bear ESA Listing & Management released on January 8.

East Glacier Park, MT – Earlier today, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) rejected requests by the states of Montana and Wyoming to end Endangered Species Act protection for grizzly bears in the northern Rockies. The Service simultaneously announced a pair of proposed rules that could dramatically change where and how grizzly bears are managed in the lower 48 states. The decisions were based on an extensive review of the scientific literature and commercial data over the past three years, as well as extensive public input.

In response to the Service’s announcements, Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance issued the following statement by Executive Director Peter Metcalf:

“Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance applauds the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its determination that grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) warrant continued protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The NCDE grizzly bear population has made a remarkable turnaround and range expansion since it was first listed in 1975, thanks to decades of hard work by state, federal, and Tribal biologists, conservationists, landowners, local communities and other people who live, work or play in grizzly country. But despite our substantial progress, significant threats to grizzlies remain, including problematic state hunting and trapping laws, accelerating habitat loss and fragmentation, and avoidable human causes of mortality. Critically, grizzly bears in the NCDE have still not connected with other isolated populations in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, although they’re getting close! Continued protection under the ESA is the best way to address these threats and achieve the natural connectivity necessary for true recovery. Then we can delist the great bear and celebrate one of America’s greatest conservation success stories with confidence that grizzly bears will thrive in perpetuity without the protections afforded by the ESA.”

In addition to the Service’s decision to continue federal protections for grizzly bears in the NCDE and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Service proposed a rule to restrict the geographical extent of federal grizzly bear protections to western and central Montana, most of Idaho, Washington and northwest Wyoming and to manage this geographical area as a single distinct population segment. The Service also proposed a new rule to increase flexibility for state and Tribal wildlife managers and authorized landowners to manage grizzly bear conflicts.

In response to these announcements, Metcalf said:

“At first glance, the proposed rule to reclassify grizzly bears across the northern Rockies and Washington state as a single distinct population appears to reflect the best available science that grizzly bears should be managed as a single, interconnected metapopulation rather than as discrete populations based on artificial recovery zones. This would reflect the noble, scientifically sound vision for a connected grizzly bear population in Montana articulated by the Governor’s Grizzly Bear Advisory Committee in 2020 and later adopted into the new 2024 Statewide Grizzly Bear Management Plan.

However, these rules suggest some substantial change to how grizzly bear recovery will be managed moving forward. We will withhold judgement until we can take a close, detailed look at their ramifications. We look forward to participating in the upcoming rule making process as well as to continuing to work with grizzly bear managers, local communities, landowners, recreationists and others to further grizzly bear recovery in Montana.”

The Service expects to officially publish the decisions and proposed rules in the Federal Register in the coming days, which will kick-off a 60-day public comment period. GTMA encourages all interested persons to participate in this process.

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About Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance

Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance is a community-based, grassroots conservation organization dedicated to the protection, stewardship, and shared enjoyment of the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Badger-Two Medicine and adjacent areas in Montana’s Crown of the Continent ecosystem, including Glacier National Park and the Rocky Mountain Front. Through science-based advocacy, community education programs, and on-the-ground conservation projects, we work to protect grizzly bears, connect habitat, and reduce conflicts so both grizzlies and people can flourish in this irreplaceable ecosystem. Learn more at www.glaciertwomedicine.org.