Panel backs grizzly delisting plan

Idaho Department of Fish and Game commissioners have approved entering a tri-state agreement supporting removal of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s grizzly population from the endangered species list.

The ecosystem, with Yellowstone National Park at its core, extends into areas outside national parks in northwestern Wyoming, southwestern Montana and southeastern Idaho.

The grizzly population in the Yellowstone area was deemed “recovered” in 2007 and the bears were removed from the endangered species list. They were returned to the list following legal challenges in 2009.

“The grizzly bear population size has exceeded recovery criteria for over a decade now,” said Ed Schriever, deputy director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials are expected to decide whether or not to delist the Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzlies by the end of 2016.

Serena Baker, wildlife service public affairs specialist, said in order to make an informed decision whether to delist the Yellowstone grizzly, her agency needs to have a conservation strategy in place. That will include an analysis of public comment and a peer review of the delisting rule by independent scientists to make sure the decision is scientifically valid. The tri-state memorandum of agreement will also be part of that plan.

By entering into the tri-state agreement, the states show they agree with delisting the Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzlies and recognize that “state agencies will be fully responsible for Yellowstone grizzly bear population management, including the potential for limited hunting.” The agreement calls for Idaho, Wyoming and Montana to work together to monitor and manage the grizzlies in the affected regions, should delisting occur.

In order for the agreement to be considered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, all three states must sign. Wyoming already agreed and Montana is expected to officially sign on in July.

The three-state agreement calls for maintaining a Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population of at least 500 grizzlies, with a goal of maintaining 600 to 747 bears, which was the estimated average population in the region from 2002 to 2014. There is also a requirement of maintaining at least 48 females with cubs.

The agreement details how the states would divide the potential hunter harvest. Should delisting occur, the states would determine the bears’ discretionary mortality rate — bear deaths based on population and expected natural deaths — in the 19,279-square-mile area. The population available for hunting will be divided between Montana, Wyoming and Idaho based on the amount of territory each state has in the ecosystem outside national parks. Idaho’s share of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is 8 percent.

The grizzly population in North Idaho will remain on the federal endangered species list, and it will remain illegal to hunt or kill them.

However, Ed Schriever, deputy director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said the northern Continental Divide’s grizzly population, which occupies Glacier National Park, has been on the rise.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission issued a statement in 2013 saying the commission supports delisting grizzlies throughout the state. That statement remains posted on the agency’s website, fishandgame.idaho.gov.

For more detailed information about the tri-state agreement, visit http://bit.ly/1rUIob1.