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Montana seeks to lift protections for bears around Glacier

Published 2:20 pm Monday, December 6, 2021

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press

In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a grizzly bear just north of the National Elk Refuge in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo. Grizzly bears are slowly expanding the turf they roam in the northern Rocky Mountains but scientists say they need continued protections, They have also concluded that no other areas of the country would be suitable for the fearsome animals. The Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, released its first assessment in nearly a decade on the status of grizzly bears in the contiguous U.S. (Joe Lieb/USFWS via AP)
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In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a grizzly bear just north of the National Elk Refuge in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo. Grizzly bears are slowly expanding the turf they roam in the northern Rocky Mountains but scientists say they need continued protections, They have also concluded that no other areas of the country would be suitable for the fearsome animals. The Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, released its first assessment in nearly a decade on the status of grizzly bears in the contiguous U.S. (Joe Lieb/USFWS via AP)
In this undated photo, a grizzly bear is seen just north of the National Elk Refuge in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. (Joe Lieb/USFWS via AP, file)

By Matthew Brown / Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lift threatened species protections for grizzly bears in the northern portion of the state, officials said Monday.

The request comes after bear populations grew sharply in recent years and run-ins between humans and bruins have increased, including attacks on livestock and periodic maulings of humans.

Removing federal protections would give state wildlife officials more flexibility to deal with bears that get into conflicts, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement.

Northwest Montana has the largest concentration of grizzlies in the Lower 48 states — more than 1,000 bears across an area that includes Glacier National Park and large expanses of forested wilderness.

In March, U.S. government scientists said grizzlies needed continued protection under the Endangered Species Act because of human-caused bear deaths and other pressures on their populations.

Hunting for grizzlies is banned in the U.S. outside Alaska, but bears considered problematic are regularly killed by wildlife officials.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who oversees Fish and Wildlife Service, co-sponsored legislation while in Congress to increase protections for bears and reintroduce them on tribal lands. Haaland declined to say how she would approach the issue when questioned during her February confirmation hearings.

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