07/20/2026
All wildlife and nature photographers and lovers, we need your voices now. I have shared how “harm” has been redefined under the Endangered Species Act, removing habitat protections for all endangered and threatened species. In addition to this new threat to grizzlies, the current administration is working to turn the management of grizzly bears over to the lower 48 states (mainly affecting MT, WY, and ID). This has been overruled by the courts twice in 2009 and 2018 due to lack of habitat connectivity for bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, as well as lack of traditional food sources due to global warming.
In 2018, the states of Idaho and Wyoming already had grizzly hunting lined up. The same would most likely happen again right away, along with their habitats being destroyed for industry profits in drilling, mining, and real estate development. Grizzly bears have a low survival rate, extremely low reproduction rates, have been euthanized due to human/bear conflict, have lost access to traditional food sources such as cutthroat trout and pine nuts, and are genetically isolated, meaning they can’t mate with other populations in areas like Glacier National Park and Canada. They should not be delisted and allowed to be hunted. They have taken over 50 years to recover, and this recovery would take decades to achieve again, if ever, as their habitats will be gone as well.
PLEASE ACT NOW. We have until August 17th to submit public comments. The docket is FWS-R6-ES-2024-0286. Please ask the Fish and Wildlife Service to withdraw the proposed ruling. Share your experience with grizzly bears and what they mean to you. Address the scientific reasons that delisting isn’t the path to take. Contact your representatives. Support organizations such as Earthjustice, Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Environmental Law Center. And please share posts about this. We are running out of time. Link below for comments...
https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FWS-R6-ES-2024-0186-76185?fbclid=IwY2xjawTLRCNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFGeE9tbUdHOGxMSklRNDY2c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHiGmfh8sPEbrkG7RVKzTGiMxZdyWk0DKZBOv5smYO3wR3XLRe9uhOjLKk3iv_aem_UfjDAYZjX_PSyElgmOUV7A
