EXCLUSIVE: Senate Republicans seek to delist Yellowstone grizzly bear after Biden's rebuff

Former President Joseph R. Biden’s refusal to delist the grizzly bear as a threatened species earlier this month infuriated Western Republicans, but Mr. Biden is no longer in power — and they are.

Members of the Senate Western Caucus plan to introduce Thursday the Grizzly Bear State Management Act, a bill to remove the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear’s status as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, as first reported by The Washington Times.

The bill would also direct the Interior Department to shift management of the bear population to the states, giving them more flexibility in managing the grizzlies while preserving federal oversight for population monitoring.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming Republican, said that the “Endangered Species Act is broken beyond repair, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Grizzly is the perfect example.

“Western states have proven track records of effectively managing their wildlife populations, and returning grizzly responsibility back to the local level ensures ignorant Washington bureaucrats keep their paws off of state matters,” she said in a statement.

The legislation is also supported by Republican Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming; Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, and Mike Crapo and Jim Risch of Idaho.

On its way out the door, the Biden administration rejected petitions filed by Montana and Wyoming to delist the grizzly bears of the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems.

Grizzlies in the lower 48 states have been listed as threatened since 1975 and delisted by the Fish and Wildlife Service twice, only to have federal judges relist the bears in response to lawsuits filed by environmental groups.

The Lummis bill essentially requires the Interior Department to reissue its 2017 delisting decision, which concluded that the Yellowstone grizzly “has recovered and no longer meets the definition of an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.”

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen, an Obama appointee, vacated the rule in 2018, saying the department had “failed to make a reasoned decision,” even though the Yellowstone bears had exceeded their recovery goal by 40%.

Environmental groups opposed to delisting argue that putting management in the hands of state wildlife agencies will threaten the bears’ recovery by allowing hunting, while state leaders counter that the rapidly multiplying bears are becoming a greater threat.

The Yellowstone grizzly population reached 1,030 bears in 2023, more than doubling its recovery goal of 500, fueling concerns about encounters with humans and livestock as the apex predators expand their territory.

The grizzly population of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in Montana is estimated at 1,163, also well above its recovery goal of 500 bears, a threshold reached in 2004, according to a timeline provided by Mr. Daines’ office.