After three decades of successful conservation efforts involving federal and state agencies and many other partners, the greater Yellowstone population of grizzly bears has recovered and no longer needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act, Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced today.
As a result, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to remove the Yellowstone population from the list of threatened and endangered species. Four other grizzly populations in the lower 48 states have not yet recovered and will continue to be protected as threatened species under the Act.
“When it was listed in 1975, this majestic animal that greeted Lewis and Clark on their historic expedition stood at risk of disappearing from the American West,” Norton said. “Thanks to the work of many partners, more than 600 grizzlies now inhabit the Yellowstone ecosystem and the population is no longer threatened.” “With a comprehensive conservation strategy ready to be put into place upon delisting, we are confident that the future of the grizzly bear in Yellowstone is bright,” she said. “Our grandchildren’s grandchildren will see grizzly bears roaming Yellowstone.”