Despite objections from Gov. Greg Gianforte and the governors of Wyoming and Idaho, the grizzly bear remains on the Endangered Species list. It’s estimated that there are 2,000 grizzlies roaming the back country in the Rocky Mountain ecosystem. The same can’t be said for California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon where the bears are no longer extant.
At one time, more than 50,000 grizzlies roamed the 18 Western States from Canada to Texas; by 1975, there were fewer than 800.
In Montana, there have been a number of human-grizzly encounters, many of which proved fatal for the humans. Ranchers says the bears are killing their livestock.
Our Montana Congressional delegation has been working to return control of the grizzly back to the states. There may be change in the wind as has been pointed out by Congressman Ryan Zinke who tells the A-P, “There’s no denying the Biden administration jammed this through with 12 days to go knowing it’s a blatantly political play to appease radical environmentalists.”
Thankfully, he says, “The political hands pulling the strings at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are about to be fired.
KGEZ thanks reporter Clayton Murphy, of the University of Montana School of Journalism. The Montana Broadcasters, the Newspapers Association and the Greater Montana Foundation provided funding for these reports.
