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Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce: Grizzly bear decision unfortunate, disappointing for Wyoming

GILLETTE, Wyo. — Wyoming Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce says failing to delist grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is a failure to appropriately recognize one of the greatest wildlife conservation success stories on earth.

Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that grizzly bears would retain their threatened status under the Endangered Species Act. The announcement was made in response to multiple petitions that sought to return grizzly bear management to the states, including one from Wyoming regarding the GYE population. 

The decision, however, was met with opposition from Wyoming landowners and lawmakers, including Governor Mark Gordon, who in response to the decision said it has always been clear that the Biden Administration had no intentions to delist GYE grizzlies. 

Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Angi Bruce (Wyoming Game and Fish Department)

On Jan. 9, Bruce followed up with her response, calling the FWS decision extremely disappointing, frustrating and in direct conflict with grizzly bear science. 

“The science is clear on grizzly bears: They are recovered in the GYE, and their recovery is a conservation success,” Bruce said in a statement. “It is very clear that grizzly bears should be under state and Tribal management.”

According to Bruce, failing to recognize grizzly bear recovery in Wyoming is an insult to the ESA and dismisses the extensive efforts of wildlife managers to ensure their place on the landscape. She says the service has chosen to ignore science and keep grizzly bears listed. 

“This is not a science-based decision, but a decision based on the federal government not wanting to give up control,” Bruce said. “One of the greatest wildlife conservation success stories on earth is being undermined by a failure to recognize those compromises, collaborations, and sacrifices that brought back grizzly bears from the brink of extirpation.”

Since GYE grizzlies were listed, the department has spent millions of license fee dollars and thousands of hours to fulfill all the obligations required to demonstrate the recovery of the species, per Bruce. 

“This decision shows that no matter what we do, the USFWS refuses to recognize the state’s efforts as well as the sacrifices and compromises made by the public who live, work, and recreate in areas occupied by grizzly bears,” Bruce said. “This decision is unfortunate and disappointing for grizzly bears and for the people of Wyoming.”

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