Risch, Crapo Applaud Move to Return Grizzly Bear Management to States

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho) today applauded the Department of the Interior proposal to provide new flexibility for western states in managing grizzly bears.

"It's abundantly clear Idaho's grizzly bear populations have widely exceeded recovery goals," said Risch. "Increasing state authority to manage grizzly bears ensures our own local wildlife agencies, who understand Idaho's environment best, can follow the science and make commonsense conservation decisions without bureaucratic inefficiencies."

"The recovery of the grizzly bear in the West is a conservation success story made possible by decades of work from state, tribal, federal and local conservation partners," said Crapo. "For years, I have advocated for returning grizzly bear management to the states as recovery objectives and benchmarks have been achieved. Secretary Burgum's announcement moves us one step closer to allowing Idaho wildlife professionals to manage a recovered grizzly population in a way that protects both the species and Idaho communities."

The announcement, made by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik, proposes a revised rule to increase management flexibility for grizzly bears in areas where the species has met, and in many cases exceeded, federal recovery benchmarks. The updated proposal ensures the Endangered Species Act is being used as Congress intended while continuing to support the species' long-term conservation.

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