Grizzly Bears in Yellowstone National Park have been on the endangered species list for the last four decades. This has provided the bears with protection from hunters in order to allow their population to increase. Trump has recently ripped away these protections, allowing hunters to take aim at the bears.
There are only 700 grizzly bears at Yellowstone. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service said on Thursday that the bears have recovered enough to be delisted. Ryan Zinke, Secretary of Interior, called the repopulation "one of America's great conservation successes."
The issue
Grizzly bears were added to the endangered species list and given the protections of the Endangered Species Act in 1975.
Due to unregulated hunting, the bears had suffered greatly. Their population had dwindled down to a mere 136. With 700 bears in Yellowstone at the moment, being removed from he endangered species list puts their managements under the control of states and tribes. However, some people are worried about the current bear population.
If grizzly bears wander off of national park grounds, they will be subject to hunting laws in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. The Western Environmental Law Center will be filing a lawsuit to challenge the decision. Matt Bishop, a staff attorney, said that he believed the decision was political and not based on science. He claimed that removing endangered species protections from grizzly bears will be a giant step backwards.
Trump's anti-conservation agenda
One of the first things Trump did when he took office was begin making extreme cuts to almost every environmental service and department in the federal government. He set his sights on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Parks Service (NPS) initially.
Trump cut federal funding to the EPA and moved to replace the department head with known climate change denier Scott Pruitt.
He also issued gag orders for both the EPA and NPS, banning the departments from using any form of social media.
The Endangered Species Act also came under fire by many republicans seeking to weaken the protections that are offered by this act, which has been in effect since 1973. It was signed into law by President Richard Nixon and has saved 227 species from extinction.
Even though 90% of Americans support the Endangered Species Act, the Trump administration is doing everything they can to limit the authority and protections that this act provides.
Removing protections of Yellowstone grizzly bears will take effect in 30 days, if the lawsuit is not successful.
