By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The irony is obvious; while some environmentalists are pushing hard to re-introduce grizzly bears to the Washington Cascades, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador has sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Bergum and Brian Nesvik, director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), wants grizzlies removed from the Endangered Species list.
In his Aug. 14 letter, Labrador tells the Trump administration officials, “Expansion of grizzly bears in Idaho and neighboring states presents significant challenges for our state management agencies and local communities, including increased public safety concerns where people live, work and recreate, protection of private property, and management of other impacts. The Proposed Revision of the Protective Regulations unreasonably enables more armchair critics, a maze of pointless paperwork, and more opportunities for the activist-litigation machine that’s already well-funded at taxpayer expense.”
According to the Pacific Northwest Ag Network, “A separate federal review of the grizzly bear’s overall endangered species status remains underway, with a court-ordered deadline in December.”
In his three-page letter, Labrador also takes a smack at lawsuit-prone environmental groups which have been using the courts to force wildlife agencies to manage for grizzlies according to the environmentalists agenda.
“We support revisions to the 4d rule that reduce – not expand – opportunities for litigation under citizen suit provisions that detract from conservation of grizzly bears and other wildlife,” Labrador wrote. “These suits may pay lip service to grizzly bear conservation, but based on our experience, they are more focused on other objectives, including special interest fundraising and financing a proliferation of lawyers. These organizations use citizen suits in favorable legal forums to commandeer state wildlife regulation for their private objectives.”
Labrador concludes by noting, “I call upon the USFWS to vigorously reject those who unjustly demonize our state management agencies and local communities – as if they have made no investment or sacrifice to support grizzly bear conservation in the past as well as in the future. The record of remarkable grizzly bear population growth speaks for itself, and ESA delisting is long overdue.”
In neighboring Washington, the push to reintroduce grizzly bears has raised alarms among ranchers in Okanogan and Ferry counties, and in the state’s northeast region, along with hunters, who are already concerned about the expanding wolf population. Grizzlies and wolves are both apex predators, and outdoorsmen and women are concerned about decimation of the mule deer and elk populations.
Also weighing in on grizzly management is the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, which announced Thursday it has submitted comments to USFWS supporting the proposed ESA 4(d) rule “to expand state and tribal grizzly bear management and advance population recovery toward delisting.”
“Upon being listed as threatened under the ESA in 1975, between 700-800 grizzlies remained in the Lower 48,” the Sportsmen’s Alliance said in its announcement. “Now, over 2,000 grizzly bears occupy four primary ecosystems in the lower-48 states. The tremendous success in conserving and recovering grizzly bears is a direct result of sound management by the FWS and federal, state, and tribal partners. Specifically, management utilizing all tools available under the ESA, in ways that encourage cooperation and flexibility, has placed the grizzly bear on solid footing for continued population increases, expanded ranges, and, ultimately, delisting from the ESA. These tools include the use of section 4(d) rules, and the currently proposed 4(d) rule, with the incorporation of suggestions offered by SAF, will only advance the grizzly’s success story.”
