The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has been fighting for over a year to get Yellowstone National Park's iconic grizzly bears 1) delisted and 2) expose them to trophy hunters. The FWS is also ignoring a coalition of almost 50 tribes that oppose delisting the bears. The coalition of American Indian tribes argues that the bear plays a key role in their tribes' cultural and spiritual lives and losing the bears is akin to cultural genocide. The coalition also doesn't believe that the bears have recuperated enough and many of their limited food sources are threatened by climate change.
Unfortunately, 2015 has already proven to be a bad year for the grizzly bears. According to the Yellowstone Insider, "humans were involved in over 80 percent of grizzly bear deaths this year. 'Human-caused' killings include both grizzly bears struck by cars as well as bears removed by management for trespasses, property damage, public safety concerns and old age." The grizzly bears are also forced to compete with livestock for space and resources. Keep in mind that there are 757 necessary bears who are a keystone species and ecosystem engineers competing with millions of cows and sheep that we do NOT need to be eating, drinking (their secretions) or wearing.
Please sign and share this petition demanding that grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park not be delisted. We may be their biggest threat, but we're also their only hope.
