The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has denied petitions to remove Endangered Species Act protections from grizzly bears, finding that the imperiled animals still need federal protection.
The agency simultaneously issued a proposed rule that would loosen restrictions on when grizzly bears can be killed. The proposal also creates a boundary limiting where grizzly bears receive federal protections, excluding places like California and Colorado, where the bears once lived and habitat remains.
For now, this decision ends an effort by Montana, Idaho and Wyoming to strip grizzly bears of federal protections.
The Service has previously attempted to delist grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem twice. The last time the agency issued a delisting rule, in 2017, Wyoming and Idaho immediately rushed to approve hunting seasons. In September 2018, before hunting seasons began, the U.S. District Court of Montana vacated the delisting rule and issued an injunction to prevent the hunts. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals later affirmed the district court’s decision.
The proposed rule would permit the killing of grizzly bears in more situations than under current regulations. For example, property owners would be allowed to kill bears actively attacking livestock.
Historically grizzly bears ranged from Alaska to Mexico, with an estimated 50,000 bears occupying the western half of the contiguous United States. Today grizzly bears occupy just 6% of their historical range in the lower 48 states, surviving in four isolated locations in the northern Rockies, where the current population is just over 2,000 bears.
Grizzly bear numbers in and around Yellowstone and Glacier national parks have improved since the animals were first protected in 1975. But the bears continue to be threatened by isolation from other grizzly populations and human-caused deaths.
Science shows that connections among grizzly bear populations are needed for genetic health, but habitat destruction along with killing and removing bears that wander outside arbitrary protected areas continue to prevent this crucial connectivity. Connectivity between grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide and Greater Yellowstone ecosystems could significantly improve the bears’ genetic diversity.
The Service calls the proposed rule a “new and comprehensive approach” to long-term grizzly bear recovery in the lower 48 states and the concerns of those living with and near bears.
The Service says the rule clarifies the geographic area where grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are subject to protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The Service has published an independently peer-reviewed updated species status assessment https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-01/usfws-2024_v2.2_ssa_for_grizzly_bear_in_the_lower-48_states.pdf
that it says compiles the best available scientific information, which helps to inform decision-making.
“This reclassification will facilitate recovery of grizzly bears and provide a stronger foundation for eventual delisting,” said Martha Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director. “And the proposed changes to our 4(d) rule will provide management agencies and landowners more tools and flexibility to deal with human/bear conflicts, an essential part of grizzly bear recovery.”
Grizzly bears were listed under the ESA in 1975 throughout the lower 48 states, including areas outside the historical range of grizzly bears.
The Service’s proposed rule would revise that listing to establish a single distinct population segment (DPS) encompassing areas in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming, where suitable habitat exists and where grizzly bears currently reside or are expected to establish as populations recover. The grizzly bear DPS would retain threatened status under the ESA.
The proposed action removes ESA protections outside the newly proposed DPS, where grizzly bears do not occur and are not expected to inhabit in the future.
The proposed action is a first step towards fulfilling a settlement agreement with the state of Idaho requiring an evaluation of the grizzly bear listing in the lower 48 states by January 2026.
With this announcement, the Service also responds to petitions from the states of Montana and Wyoming to establish and delist DPSs for the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, respectively, and finds these petitioned actions “not warranted”.
After a thorough review of the best scientific and commercial data available, the Service found grizzly bear populations in those two ecosystems do not, on their own, represent valid DPSs.
Grizzly bear populations are now geographically closer to each other than ever, and the Service has documented grizzly bear movement between some populations, indicating recovery zones are no longer discrete. This increased movement of grizzly bears illustrates the success of conservation and management efforts to date while highlighting the importance of establishing and maintaining conservation measures and management practices that foster continued movement of bears.
Establishing a single DPS encompassing all six recovery zones will provide a comprehensive and scientifically based framework for recovery. Grizzly bear distribution has significantly expanded, largely due to the commitments of state, federal, and Tribal agencies. These partners, says the Service, have played a key role in the on-the-ground management of grizzly bears for over 40 years by dedicating significant resources toward monitoring and management; in addition, private landowners have made sacrifices to accommodate grizzly bears.
The Service also said that recovery of small and extirpated populations relies on contributions from highly resilient populations. Maintaining all recovery zones together in one DPS will increase the speed of recovery in remaining ecosystems and the overall viability of grizzly bears, increasing the likelihood of successfully delisting the entire DPS by addressing the species’ recovery needs as a whole.
4(d) Rule
The Service’s proposed 4(d) rule will revise the existing rule to give management agencies and landowners greater flexibility and tools to take bears in the context of research and conflict management.
Grizzly bear expansion is challenging for local communities and working lands, and the Service says it is committed to a collaborative approach and helping partner agencies, private landowners, and livestock producers by providing additional management tools. Management tools can be implemented along with important safeguards to promote connectivity and resiliency that are necessary for delisting.
The proposed 4(d) rule recognizes the need for added flexibility and responsiveness on private lands and areas where grizzly bear populations are impacting private landowners and livestock producers while continuing efforts to promote conservation in areas crucial to the eventual delisting of grizzly bears in the lower 48 as a whole.
The Service invites public comments on the proposed rule to designate a single DPS and the associated 4(d) revision during a 60-day comment period. Following the closure of the public comment period, the Service will review and address comments before publishing a final rule, which is expected by January 2026.
For more information on the proposed rule (including supporting materials) and how to participate in the public comment process, please visit the project webpage at https://www.fws.gov/grizzlyrulemaking.