U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists believe the grizzly population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem no longer needs the protections of the Endangered Species Act/NPS, Jim Peaco file photo

Editor's note: This updates with comment from the National Parks Conservation Association, which is concerned there are gaps in the proposed delisting documents.

Stating that the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has recovered to the point of sustainability, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to remove the species from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

"The restoration of the grizzly bear in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho during the last three decades stands as one of America’s great conservation successes—a testament to the value of the Endangered Species Act and the strong partnerships it drives," the Service said in a release. "The Yellowstone grizzly bear population has rebounded from as few as 136 bears in 1975 to an estimated 700 or more today."

The news was cautiously received by several environmental and conservation organizations, but National Parks Conservation Association officials said too much was missing from the proposed delisting documents to move forward.

“Grizzly bears are a keystone species of our national parks and wild places, making the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal to remove the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly from the Endangered Species List a serious concern. The post-delisting management of bears must be based on sound science and provide adequate protections to ensure the long-term survival of this iconic population," said Stephanie Adams,  NPCA's Yellowstone program manager. “Frustratingly, this draft rule released for public review is essentially incomplete, as it fails to provide details that would impact bears in our national parks. It also relies on outdated state plans, one a decade old, for grizzly management. The draft rule is missing critical information to outline how state agencies will partner with the National Park Service, in addressing bear management on lands adjacent to national parks.

“We are also extremely concerned that the draft rule fails to address hunting inside of the John D. Rockefeller Parkway, key habitat connecting bears between Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks," she added in a release. "Our No. 1 priority is ensuring that grizzly bears are conserved in our national parks and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in perpetuity, preserving the important roles they play in maintaining healthy and diverse environments.”

At the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Executive Director Caroline Bird said her organization would "scrutinize every word" of the proposed transition of grizzly bear management from federal to state governments.

“Yellowstone grizzly bears are one of our country’s greatest conservation success stories and transitioning bears off the Endangered Species List must be done in a way that continues this legacy,” Ms. Byrd said in a release from her Bozeman, Montana, office. “The delisting rule must adequately protect grizzly habitat, commit to reducing human-caused conflict, and promote connectivity. It must also require coordinated management among Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming that maintains a healthy, stable population. If these critical issues are not addressed, we will use all tools available to ensure that grizzly bears remain protected.”

At the Fish and Wildlife Service, Director Dan Ashe said the agency's delisting proposal "underscores and celebrates more than 30 years of collaboration with our trusted federal, state, and tribal partners to address the unique habitat challenges of grizzlies. The final post-delisting management plans by these partners will ensure healthy grizzly populations persist across the Yellowstone ecosystem long into the future.”

To ensure balanced management and effective conservation of the Greater Yellowstone grizzly population going forward, the Service is also releasing two other documents for public comment: a draft supplement to the 1993 Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan for the Yellowstone grizzly bear population, and a draft conservation strategy. These detail how both grizzly bears and their habitat will be managed in a post-delisting environment.

“Even with this proposed delisting, the Service remains committed to the conservation of the Yellowstone grizzly bear, and will stay engaged to ensure that this incredible species remains recovered,” Director Ashe said. “We will continue to be part of a strong monitoring program, implementation of the conservation strategy, and partnership with our state and federal partners. We are look forward to hearing from the public about the proposal and consulting with Native American tribes.”

In its release the Service said that "population and habitat monitoring efforts undertaken by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Study Team indicate that grizzly bears have more than doubled their range since the mid-1970s. They now occupy more than 22,500 square miles of the Yellowstone ecosystem, an area larger than the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined. Stable population numbers for grizzlies for more than a decade also indicate that the Yellowstone ecosystem is at or near its carrying capacity for the bears."

But Dr. David Mattson, a research wildlife biologist, questioned the wisdom of delisting in a weekly blog posting on The Grizzly Times. In it he questioned whether the Service had fully taken into account the diminishing resources grizzlies in the ecosystem depend on.

We lost the majority of mature cone-producing whitebark pine in a single decade to a lethal epidemic of bark beetles driven by climate warming. Although there is some debate over whether whitebark pine will come back, I am skeptical. No matter what some apologists might say, our climate is only going to get warmer, with continued attrition of the high-elevation haunts of this pine species. And even under the best of circumstances, cone-producing trees are not going to be back any time soon.

We lost virtually all of the cutthroat trout that spawn in tributaries of Yellowstone Lake to a wicked one-two punch of predation from Lake trout (a recently introduced non-native) and worsening stream conditions that are ultimately attributable to climate change. Again, there is some debate about prospects for restoring cutthroat trout but, again, I am skeptical. There is essentially no prospect of ever eradicating Lake trout, and hydrologic conditions will only worsen, not improve, with continued changes in precipitation and snowpack.

We continue to lose bison to regressive and wrong-headed management strategies that have been implemented to address the presumed threat of a bovine disease called brucellosis. Thousands of bison in one of our few remaining free-ranging herds have been killed as part of a program to placate right-wing ranchers who use the inflated threat of brucellosis to cattle as a means of perpetuating an ideology of land use. Who knows where this all leads, but the slaughter of bison at the boundary of Yellowstone Park certainly precludes any availability of bison to the many grizzlies living on non-park lands.

We will lose most (say, 90%) of alpine habitats that currently sustain army cutworm moths as these environments surely succumb to climate warming during the next century. We don’t know if or how cutworm moths might adapt to climate change, but we do know that they currently subsist during the summer almost wholly on the nectar of flowers growing in alpine tundra.

As for all of the other foods and behaviors unique to Yellowstone’s grizzly bears? The future is at best uncertain. My experience with modeling the prospective effects of climate change on the distributions of plant and animal species has led me to a couple of firm conclusions. Major, virtually incomprehensible, changes will occur. Much of what we have now in Yellowstone will disappear, with little prospect that most species will simply migrate upslope. And much of what replaces these losses will be weeds.

At the Service, officials said that determining the species' recovery is based on more than just the number of bears in the ecosystem. "It includes the quantity and quality of habitat, adequate regulatory mechanisms to maintain a healthy and viable population, and a good balance of male and female bears that are well-distributed throughout the ecosystem," the agency's release said.

The National Wildlife Federation also praised the recovery of grizzlies, but also said it would closely monitor the delisting process.

“The recovery of Yellowstone grizzlies is a true American conservation success story and the proposal to ‘delist’ is the appropriate next step in the evolution of their restoration. We took a population of grizzlies that was heading down the path toward extinction, turned it around and now have a healthy, stable population of these magnificent creatures. It’s time to examine transitioning from federal management of grizzly bears under the Endangered Species Act to management by the states, just as other healthy wildlife populations are managed,” said Collin O’Mara, president and chief executive officer of the National Wildlife Federation. “Before we take that next step, we are committed to ensuring that adequate measures are in place to ensure grizzlies endure for generations to come. The National Wildlife Federation will work with the states of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho to ensure that the final plans maintain a healthy and stable population of grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.”

The proposed rule, and the supporting documents, will be published in a couple days in the Federal Register. The Service will be seeking review and comment by the public, other federal and state agencies, and independent scientists. Comments will be accepted for 60-days after publication. You can submit electronically at http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter Docket Number FWS–R6–ES–2016–0042, and then click on the “Comment Now!” button.