A map of the newly defined area for the Distinct Population Segment (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Comments Needed – Help Save Yaak Grizzlies

As we wrote last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed a plan to manage grizzly bears as a new, smaller distinct population segment (DPS).  Under this plan, the area in which grizzlies are currently protected via the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which encompasses the lower 48 states, would be drastically reduced to an area including parts of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and the entire state of Washington.  The six “recovery zones within the DPS boundary would remain as they are, with full ESA protection.  

As of January 27, 2025, at the direction of the new federal administration, the USFWS suddenly canceled public outreach meetings it had scheduled regarding these proposed changes, but the e-mail portals are still up. It is therefore vital that you get your comments in as soon as possible before these e-mail portals, too, are canceled. The Yaak’s last grizzlies deserve it and come whatever may come, we will continue to defend them—with your help. 

The issues we see with this plan are (1) its complexity seems designed to confuse the public and stifle comments; (2) it effectively decrees that grizzly bears will cease to exist outside the borders of the DPS; and (3) it includes a proposed revision of the 4(d) rule, that specifies the conditions under which grizzly bears may be legally taken within the DPS but outside the recovery zones.  The proposed revision relaxes those standards and will result in a loss of connectivity and in more dead bears. 

Yaak grizzly bears, the most endangered population in North America, are already suffering habitat loss from human settlement and recreation.  Add to that USFS activities such as clearcutting and roadbuilding, along with the increased threat of being killed that this proposal allows if they wander out of the recovery zones, and we fail to see how this plan will lead to the survival, let alone eventual recovery, of Yaak grizzlies. 
 
The proposed revision of the 4(d) rule initiates a new rulemaking process, which includes an environmental assessment and a comment period.  You can help save Yaak grizzlies—and grizzlies everywhere—by submitting a comment to the USFWS by March 17, 2025. 
 
In your comment, please tell the USFWS that their plan for grizzlies needs to: 

  • Maintain protections for grizzly bears throughout their historic range
  • Oppose the revised 4(d) “killing” rule, which would allow killing bears within the DPS
  • Improve And Protect Grizzly Bear Habitat Conditions
    • Ensure protection of roadless areas and corridors between them.
  • Minimize Threats to grizzly bears
    • Recognize that climate change, population growth, rural sprawl, energy development, road construction, and off-road vehicle use are degrading grizzly bear habitat and further isolating populations.
  • Adopt Policies and Practices to Address Human Conflicts
    • Prioritize and fund bear-aware programs and encourage tolerance for sharing our environment with grizzly bears.
    • Support more tribal involvement. Honor their sacred relationship to the grizzly bear by acknowledging the signing of the historic Piikani Treaty. The Piikani Treaty (The Grizzly: A Treaty of Cooperation, Cultural Revitalization and Restoration) is a historic treaty, signed by over 130 First Nations and Tribes across North America, in October 2016, to pledge their dedication to protecting the grizzly bear.
  • Reduce hunting and trapping conflicts
    • Regulate trapping to prevent injury or death of grizzly bears. Encourage the use of bear spray as opposed to firearms in chance encounters.
  • Increase Budgets for Enforcement and Improved Sanitation
    • Follow up on poaching and malicious killings of grizzly bears.
    • Educate communities on the need to secure attractants like garbage, chickens, bird feeders, and pet food to prevent grizzly bears from becoming habituated to humans and food sources.

PLEASE WRITE! Comments must be submitted by March 17, 2025, and can be submitted in writing through the federal portal at https://www.regulations.gov or by U.S. mail:  

Public Comments Processing 
Attn: FWS–R6–ES–2024–0186 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
MS: PRB/3W 
5275 Leesburg Pike 
Falls Church, VA 22041–3803 

Yaak grizzlies need your help desperately! You can help protect grizzlies throughout their historic range by submitting a comment to the USFWS by March 17. 
 
Thank you for standing up for Yaak’s isolated and struggling population of perhaps only 24 bears  and for advocating for all grizzly bears in this time of great ecosystem stress.   

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