Montana Approves Grizzly Hunting Framework

Wildlife regulators in Montana this week approved a framework required by the federal government for the potential hunting of grizzly bears as part of the process to remove the species within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

At its regular monthly meeting, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks commission approved the rules Wednesday, July 13. Montana, along with Wyoming and Idaho, would assume management of grizzlies if federal protection is successfully removed through the process already underway and expected to be finalized sometime in 2017.

As part of the delisting process, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is requiring wildlife managers in the three states having lands within the GYE — Wyoming, Montana and Idaho — to outline the structure and framework of any future grizzly bear hunting seasons subsequent to the delisting. The states have apportioned the grizzlies that could be hunted according to their share of the GYE area: Wyoming with 58 percent, Montana with 34 percent and Idaho with 8 percent.

During this week’s meeting, Montana commissioners also voted to approve an agreement with Idaho and Wyoming to cooperate in the delisting process.

John Vore, game management bureau chief for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said that despite the approval of guidelines, there is no set timeline for the hunting of grizzlies to begin.

“We are not proposing a grizzly bear hunting season at this time,” Vore said. “What we are proposing is the structure, or the framework of what a season would look like, if and when we do a grizzly bear hunting season. This is something required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a guarantee that the grizzly bear population in Montana would be looked after and cared for, that we wouldn’t go back onto a situation where we would need to be re-listing the bear again.”

The proposed federal delisting of grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been generally hailed by hunters and conservationists as a signal that the feds recognize the species is thriving and fully recovered in the region, after its listing as a threatened species in the lower 48 states on the ESA in 1975.

Under the proposal approved this week, up to ten grizzlies could be killed in Montana annually – either by hunters or through another process. A mandatory orientation course would be required for license holders and hunters would be mandated to report their kill within 24 hours.

“Montana is committed to maintaining a healthy, viable grizzly bear population in our state, just as we do with all wildlife we are charged with managing,” Vore said.

Commission Action Part of Federal Changes Under Endangered Species Act