"Decades of work that has steered grizzly bears away from extinction in the Greater Yellowstone region could be lost if House Republicans succeed in weakening the powerful law that protects them.
Progress by the iconic bruins under the Endangered Species Act is not yet enough to keep them safe, in the eyes of environmental advocates.
But Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., says the grizzlies’ improved population numbers in the sprawling 22-million-acre ecosystem that surrounds Yellowstone National Park prove the species no longer needs help. She is pushing a bill to not only remove their ESA protection but also prevent any courts from considering challenges to that decision.
“The GYE [Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem] grizzly population has exceeded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recovery goals for over two decades,” Hageman told a Natural Resources Committee hearing on her bill. While calling the bear “a success story,” she added that, in failing to be delisted, “The grizzly is, in fact, the poster child for how the ESA has failed in terms of what it was intended to do and how it has actually been implemented.”
Erin Edge, a bear expert with Defenders of Wildlife in Montana, does not disagree that the ESA has been "a success for grizzly bears, bringing them back from the brink of extinction." Still, she said, "We're not quite recovered yet. We don't have populations connected," meaning completely distinct grizzly habitat sections should be linked for the health of the species."
Kurt Repanshek reports for National Parks Traveler July 20, 2025.
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