Grizzlies recovered?: Feds consider Endangered Species de-listing, again

It’s the suit-and-tie version of a grizzly bear hunting season, with the federal government announcing it will consider petitions from Montana and Wyoming to remove the grizzly from Endangered Species Act protection and state legislators scrambling to make new laws and policies to exert local control of the big bears. 

But a lot of fine print stands between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service review and a future grizzly trophy hunt. The apex predator has made big gains since the ESA gave it threatened status in 1975. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the act itself.

Ranchers and hunting outfitters report increasing encounters with big bears in the woods, and they fear for their livestock and lives. So do hikers and tourists, who thrill to the chance of seeing a grizzly in the wild. Wildlife managers must envision how to handle an animal that doesn’t pay attention to boundaries, jurisdictions or laws. 

On this episode is Rob Chaney, managing editor of the Missoulian newspaper, and Tom Kuglin with the Montana State News Bureau.

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Montana Untamed, hosted by Thom Bridge, covers the state's rugged landscape from hook and bullet to policy and science.