Federal government proposed on Thursday to remove grizzly bears from the list of Endangered Species Act protections. The animal is said to have largely grown back in numbers in the area of Yellowstone National Park for recent years.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said, the grizzly bear population on encompassing parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho has been increasing as it estimated from having 136 bears in 1970 to an estimated 700, according to USA Today. The bears have been on the list of protected animal species under the Endangered Species Act, approved in 1973. Service director Dan Ashe announced on Thursday that the effort to protect Yellowstone grizzly bear was a historic success.
He explained, "Our proposal today 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. Hunters and trappers had nearly extinct them out across most of the Lower 48 states by the late 1800s.
The Daily Mail reported, environmentalist are not favor with the move, and warn that if the protections are lifted, hunters will immediately move in to reduce the grizzly bears' population. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service, a U.S. Interior Department agency, the grizzly bears' habitat has also doubled occupying more than 22,500 square miles of the Yellowstone ecosystem.
The federal government also reported that the conflicts between humans and grizzly bears are arising, according to Billings Gazette. In 2010, six people were fatally mauled by the bear. A total of 59 bears were also recorded to have been killed in 2015by livestock owners. The decision to finalized the said proposal is set this year.
The last legal hunts for Yellowstone-area bears happened in the 1970s. The animals were taken off the threatened species list in 2007. However, that move was struck down and protections were restored two years later after environmental groups challenged the government in court.
