Wyoming experts were cautiously optimistic Thursday when they learned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing that Yellowstone Grizzly Bears be removed from the endangered species list.
Grizzly bears were listed for decades, before they were removed from the list in 2007. A judge put them back under federal protection in 2009. Now, just as grizzly bears are starting to emerge from their dens, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it’s recommending delisting again.
Retired large carnivore supervisor Mark Bruscino says there’s long been concern about the bear’s dwindling food sources.
“I expect the delisting rule will have additional science in it that will support the concerns the judge previously had which was primarily the science around the importance of White Bark Pine.”
Park County Wyoming Commissioner Loren Grosskopf sits on the Grizzly Bear Interagency study team. He says a federal study addresses worries that grizzly populations are cut off from each other.
“And this long term study basically said that there was no impact.”