After 40 years of protection, Yellowstone grizzly bears are off the list By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.29.17 Word Count 994 Level 1210L Grizzly bears forage in a field of blueberries in Denali National Park in Alaska. NPS Photo/Jacob W. Frank The grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park has been protected by the federal government for more than four decades, but that will begin to change soon. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said this week that the agency intends to remove grizzlies living in the Yellowstone area from Endangered Species Act protection. As interior secretary, Zinke is in charge of the National Park Service, including Yellowstone National Park. This change will be entered into the federal registry next week and can take effect 30 days from that point. The move was decried by several conservation groups and Native American tribes. They feared delisting the grizzly would lead states to open up hunting season on the bears in the protected Yellowstone zone, which reaches into Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1
Jonathan Proctor is the Rockies and Plains program director for Defenders of Wildlife. He said Friday that populations of grizzlies remain in isolated ecosystems and need continued protections from the government to grow and connect with other pockets of bear populations to increase genetic diversity. Variety in the animals' genes is considered important to help the species survive. "An Act Of Cultural Genocide" The ongoing recovery of the Yellowstone population shows how we can bring a species back from the brink, he said. But we are concerned about the actions of states after a delisting. We can t let the work of saving these bears go down the drain. Stan Grier, chief of the Piikani Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy, described the decision in cultural terms. This announcement is no doubt being celebrated by trophy hunters like Don Jr. and Eric Trump, and the president s extractive industry cronies, but for us it is an act of cultural genocide, Grier said. He called the grizzly a sacred being that protects our sacred lands. He added, This is a struggle for the very spirit of the land a struggle for the soul of all we have ever been, or will ever become. Grizzly bears number close to 700 in what s known as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which expands well beyond the park s boundaries, according to Hilary Cooley, grizzly bear recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Protected Bear Population Has Steadily Climbed She said that in 1975, the grizzly population numbered about 130 having been hunted and killed for decades prior. The restrictions and protections put in place by the Endangered Species Act allowed the bear population which grows at a relatively slow rate to climb steadily over the decades. Now with the population more than five times what it was 42 years ago, the Fish and Wildlife Service has met recovery criteria, Cooley said. Biologists with the agency believe they have given the bears a path forward for sustainability. Removing the Yellowstone population from the endangered species list, Cooley said, allows Fish and Wildlife to focus on the recovery efforts of hundreds of other species protected under the Endangered Species Act. They include other pockets of grizzly populations. She said that there are about 1,000 grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and that the agency would next focus on whether grizzlies in that region are ready for delisting. There are four other areas in the Washington-Idaho-Montana area where grizzlies enjoy protection. However, in two of them, biologists haven t reported any bear populations. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2
Other Grizzlies Will Still Be Protected Grizzly bears as a species will remain protected under the Endangered Species Act in the lower 48 states. So once an area is delisted, bears would still be protected in locations outside that area. Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney Rebecca Riley said it s too soon to allow any kind of hunting. This population is still so small that any hunting would be a problem, she said. We need the population to continue to grow bigger and more genetically diverse. She said that can only happen by allowing the bears population density to expand and connect with other bears near Glacier National Park in Montana. But unlike wolves, which travel vast distances, grizzlies don t wander far making connections with other bear groups a longer process. Grizzly Population Used To Be 50,000 Ben Nuvamsa, former head of the Hopi tribe, was angered by the decision. In a statement, he called the move to delist the grizzly a regression to the Old West frontier mentality. The grizzly bear, historically, is a religious icon to virtually all tribal nations, he said. The Fish and Wildlife Service promised us that it would conduct full and meaningful consultation with us, but it turns out, those were only empty promises. Grizzlies once numbered about 50,000 when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the West in the early 1800s, but as cities and towns expanded and developed, the bear population declined steeply. Prior to being listed as an endangered species, the bears were subject to trophy hunts. Several areas, including California, once had abundant grizzly populations. California, however, hasn t seen a grizzly since the 1990s, despite it being the symbol on the state s flag. There have been proposals to reintroduce the grizzly to parts of the Golden State, but none has been tried to date. Law Allows Pet Owners To Kill Grizzlies Proctor said state actions once the bears are delisted remain a key concern. The Idaho Legislature passed a law, signed in March by Republican Governor C.L. Butch Otter, that would allow owners of pets and livestock to kill a grizzly if they believed the bear was threatening their animals. The law would apply to people living within the Yellowstone ecosystem but outside the national park boundary and only after delisting occurred. Proctor said laws like that suggest states won t take the grizzly bear s long-term health into consideration. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3
But if protections remain in place, he said, then the grizzlies will do the rest and continue to rebound. But that s a big question will these states allow them to thrive or will they add to increased mortality? We will be monitoring it closely. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4
Quiz 1 Which idea is BEST supported by the following paragraph? The grizzly bear, historically, is a religious icon to virtually all tribal nations, he said. The Fish and Wildlife Service promised us that it would conduct full and meaningful consultation with us, but it turns out, those were only empty promises. Native Americans feel that their needs were ignored by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Native Americans have had lengthy discussions with the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Fish and Wildlife Service was unable to reach the Native Americans to discuss the bears. The Fish and Wildlife Service will protect the bears until an agreement has been reached with the Native Americans. 2 Read the following selections from the section "An Act Of Cultural Genocide." Stan Grier, chief of the Piikani Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy, described the decision in cultural terms. This announcement is no doubt being celebrated by trophy hunters like Don Jr. and Eric Trump, and the president s extractive industry cronies, but for us it is an act of cultural genocide, Grier said. He called the grizzly a sacred being that protects our sacred lands. He added, This is a struggle for the very spirit of the land a struggle for the soul of all we have ever been, or will ever become. Which of the following can be inferred from this selection? Don Jr. and Eric Trump intend to hunt grizzly bears in Yellowstone once they are delisted. Trophy hunting of grizzlies is seen as an assault on Native American cultural identity. The president's friends will take advantage of hunting opportunities in Yellowstone. Members of the Piikani Nation are able to hunt grizzlies for spiritual purposes. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5
3 Which of the following answer choices would BEST describe Hilary Cooley's reaction to the grizzly bear delisting in Yellowstone? Because the grizzly bear population has stabilized, it is likely that nearby areas have seen a similar grizzly bear increase, and do not need protection. Since the grizzly bear population goals have been met, it will be possible to give other bear populations, as well as other species, more attention. Although the grizzly bear population goals have been met, greater numbers are needed to ensure the future of the Yellowstone bears. Despite the greater number of grizzly bears, there are other environmental problems that impact the bear population. 4 HOW does the article develop the idea that the future of the grizzly bear after delisting is uncertain? by explaining how the Department of the Interior is taking a new approach to the Endangered Species Act, and delisting many species by highlighting the anger of Native American and conservation groups, and explaining legal challenges that are being planned by showing how the grizzly population has declined overall, and describing how its range has decreased by discussing the role that state laws will play, and explaining the biological complexity of grizzly breeding This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6