Feds delay finalizing Yellowstone, Lower 48 grizzly bear plans until December

Feds Pushing Grizzly Rules To December Could Be Step Toward Delisting

Delisting grizzlies could be imminent, hunting advocates say, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers regulations for bear hunting. They say pushing the deadline for the agency's decision on bears to December could be a step toward delisting.

Feds delay finalizing Yellowstone, Lower 48 grizzly bear plans until December

The deadline for Trump administration officials to decide if Yellowstone-area grizzly bears should retain Endangered Species Act protections has been pushed back nearly a year.  In January 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responded to petitions from western states that called, in part, for ending the “threatened” designation that has protected Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzlies from hunting since the 1970s. In the waning days of the…