Word that the USFWS will reconsider ESA protections for grizzly bears around Glacier and Yellowstone national parks was strongly criticized by conservationists/USFWS file

A decision Friday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider whether grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem need Endangered Species Act protection was heavily criticized by conservation groups.

In a notice to appear Monday in the Federal Register, Fish and Wildlife said "the petitions [seeking delisting] pertaining to the two ecosystems present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted."

The agency rejected a request from the state of Idaho, however, to completely delist grizzlies in the Lower 48.

In the case of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, which embraces Glacier National Park, the Fish and Wildlife Service statement said a delisting petition from the state of Montana "presents substantial information that the population size and trends have improved and that threats have been reduced in the NCDE such that the population may no longer meet the definition of a threatened species under the Act."

The agency said the same in the case of the state of Wyoming's petition to delist the bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which includes Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. The agency did say, though, that "[A]lthough notable progress has been made to address deficiencies in future state management identified by the courts, the impact of recently enacted state statutes affecting these two grizzly bear populations is of concern and will require careful consideration."

That last statement did not mollify concerns from conservation organizations.

“It’s disheartening that the federal government may strip protections from these treasured animals to appease trophy hunters and the livestock industry,” said Andrea Zaccardi, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s carnivore conservation program, in a statement. “After approving the all-out slaughter of wolves, Montana officials have proven they can’t be trusted to make science-based wildlife decisions. Our nation’s beloved grizzlies deserve better.”

According to the Center, "Montana passed new anti-predator legislation and regulations that imperil grizzly bears, wolves and other wildlife. One new law allows for nearly unregulated killing of grizzly bears 'threatening' livestock, with no definition of what constitutes such behavior. Further new laws allowing the hound hunting of black bears and baiting and snaring of wolves also endanger grizzly bears and other nontarget wildlife."

At the Western Watersheds Project, Executive Director Erik Molvar said the bear populations in the two ecosystems are still isolated from each other and removing ESA protections from the species would not help alleviate that problem.

“These grizzly populations are still genetically isolated from each other and some half-baked plan to ship Northern Continental Divide grizzlies to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem does not overcome the distinct lack of state support for a sustainably connected grizzly bear population,” he said in a statement.

According to Western Watersheds, "[A]n estimated 50,000 grizzly bears once roamed the western United States. But with the arrival of European colonizers to North America came efforts to eradicate the species. Subject to government-funded bounty programs, grizzlies were relentlessly poisoned, trapped, and shot across their range. By the 1930s, grizzly bears occupied just 2% of their original range in the continental U.S. By 1975, the year the Service listed grizzlies in the lower-48 as 'threatened' under the ESA, only 700-800 bears remained in several small, isolated populations."

Removing ESA protections would allow the states of Montana and Wyoming to open hunting seasons for grizzlies.

“Grizzly bears have come back from the brink since receiving federal protection in 1975, but the recovery of these imperiled bears still has a long way to go,” said Zaccardi. “Rushing the removal of federal safeguards threatens to undo decades of work to recover these bears.”