U.S. plan to lift Yellowstone grizzly protections faces mounting opposition

[HuckleB]

Source: Reuters

A U.S. government plan to lift Endangered Species Act protection of the grizzly bear in and around Yellowstone National Park drew a torrent of criticism from environmentalists and Indian tribes as the public comment period for the proposal came to a close on Wednesday.

Much of the discontent has focused on the prospect of grizzlies in the region becoming open to trophy hunting under state management plans put in place once federal safeguards are removed.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formally proposed in March that grizzlies in the Yellowstone area - spanning parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho - be removed from the list of threatened species, citing data showing their numbers have rebounded to healthy levels.

Some 700 grizzlies currently frequent the Yellowstone area, up from as few as 136 bears when they were listed as threatened throughout the Lower 48 states in 1975, after decades of being hunted, trapped and poisoned to near-extinction.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-grizzlies-idUSL2N1882A9

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As it should...

[villager]

1. If I wanted the kind of short-sighted, anti-wildlife policies promulgated by this administration, I

...would have voted for a Republican.

In retrospect, evidently, I did.

[HuckleB]

2. Unfortunately, there are varying degrees of Republicans.

As we learned from the last official Republican presidency, and I don't want to think about what a possible next official Republican presidency would bring.

Or we could think about the reality that people within a party are going to disagree in some areas, and that's just being human, to some extent. Here, I don't think the current administration is doing well with making policy follow evidence.

[villager]

4. Yes. We now have the "Democratic" kind of Republican, and the Fascist kind. some choice, eh?

[HuckleB]

5. Uh huh.

[Mojorabbit]

3. Yes. A huge disappointment in this area. nt

[villager]

6. Agreed. nt

[Bayard]

7. Ranchers

Big ranchers must be complaining about them taking a few cattle again.

[HuckleB]

8. Possibly.

It does seem ludicrous, considering the number of cattle, and the land they get to use for very little.