Yellowstone’s grizzlies are off the endangered species list. They’re not safe from manki
Yellowstone’s grizzlies are off the endangered species list. They’re not safe from mankind.The grizzly bears of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem will no longer be protected by the federal government, the Department of the Interior announced Thursday.The long-anticipated move removes the bears from the list of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act, and hands over their management to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, the states where they live. It also opens the door to hunting them in areas outside Yellowstone National Park.Grizzlies once numbered in the thousands, but dwindled to just 150 individuals by the middle of the last century. Thanks to conservation efforts, they rebounded, and there are now more than 700 bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (the park and its surrounding wilderness).Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the bears don’t need special protection anymore. “This achievement stands as one of America’s great conservation successes,” he said in a statement, “the culmination of decades of hard work and dedication on the part of state, tribal, federal and private partners.”He’s not wrong: The revival of the Yellowstone grizzly is a huge conservation win. But some activists and tribal leaders are still worried that it’s too soon to declare victory, especially because of the uncertainties of climate change.Read the full explainer here. -- source link
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