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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2024
CONTACT: Michael Pearlman, Communications Director
Governor Gordon slams USFWS disregard of mandatory 12-month deadline on GYE grizzly bear delisting
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The Federal government’s continued inability to meet deadlines set by Wyoming’s grizzly bear delisting petition is unacceptable, Governor Mark Gordon said today.
On behalf of the Governor, the State of Wyoming has filed a response to the Department of Interior’s Notice that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is unable to meet the legally-required deadline for Wyoming’s petition to delist the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The State’s response, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming, pushes back against the claim’s justification and proposed new deadline. Wyoming is demanding that the Service respond on or before Oct. 31, 2024.
The Governor has issued the following statement on Wyoming’s response:
“First and foremost, grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem never should have been put back on the Endangered Species List. Populations in the GYE have reached recovery goals multiple times over the last 40 years, being successfully delisted twice, yet they remain protected under the ESA and under the management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to litigation.
Wyoming has a sound, proven plan in place to assume management of grizzly bears; it is the Service that cannot produce what they have promised. We will not accept a 6-month delay to Wyoming’s petition – and one that costs the State $2 million annually to manage a species we have no authority over. Wyoming will accept nothing less than the Service to expeditiously complete the delisting decision for the GYE bear no later than Oct. 31, 2024.”
The State of Wyoming remains committed to implementing a sustainable conservation strategy for the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which continues to thrive since the species was listed under the ESA in 1975.
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