A Dire Step Backward for Wildlife: Grizzly Bear Delisting Advances
Just before the early start to the Congressional August recess, a dire piece of legislation was pushed forward when the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources narrowly voted in favor of House Resolution 281, the Grizzly Bear State Management Act of 2025. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), and Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT), would remove Endangered Species Act protections from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population of grizzly bears and return management of the endangered keystone predators to state control.
Despite over 50 conservation organizations sending a letter urging representatives to vote against the bill, the legislation passed out of committee by a 20–19 vote along party lines. The push to delist grizzlies through Congressional legislation comes after both Wyoming and Montana filed unsuccessful petitions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in recent years to delist grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Now, anti-predator politicians are attempting to bypass the scientific review process and legislatively strip protections from grizzly bears in a move that could jeopardize decades of recovery efforts since the species was listed under the ESA in 1975.
Although grizzly bear numbers have grown in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the population remains geographically and genetically isolated from other grizzly populations, such as those in the Northern Continental Divide. Limited interbreeding and reduced genetic diversity can increase the bears vulnerability to disease, birth defects, and environmental pressures. Returning management to the states would likely result in overhunting and further reduce the chances of restoring a healthy, connected population — putting the long-term recovery of Yellowstone’s grizzlies at serious risk.
The Grizzly Bear State Management Act of 2025 (H.R. 281) may now be brought before the full House of Representatives for a vote when Congress returns this fall. It is more important than ever to contact your members of Congress and tell them to oppose any delisting of grizzly bears.
If you haven’t already, please also sign and share our petition demanding that grizzlies remain protected under the Endangered Species Act.