Protect Greater Yellowstone's Grizzly Bear
- by: Michelle Uberuaga, Park County Environmental Council
- recipient: Secretary of the Interior-elect, Rep. Deb Haaland
Rep. Haaland,
We, the undersigned, congratulate you on your ground-breaking nomination as Secretary of the Interior.
In one of your first actions, we request you consider grizzly bears when deciding upon the appointment of the new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
For decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has attempted to delist grizzly bears, despite the species still being in peril in the Lower 48. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the species still faces significant threats from genetic isolation; habitat degradation, in the form of invasive species and climate change; and human conflict; as a result, grizzly mortalities have reached record numbers in recent years. The same is true for the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Other recovery areas do not have a sustainable population, either.
We want to thank you for being a leader on grizzly bears, including sponsoring the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act, which bans trophy hunting and requires federal consultation with tribes before any major federal actions.
The tribes have led the protection of grizzly bears, including in their recent lawsuit to overturn the Fish and Wildlife Service's 2016 attempt to delist grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
We are confident you will continue this leadership and thank you for consideration.
Dear Secretary Jewell,
Greater Yellowstone grizzly bears still need federal protection.
The fate of the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear is uncertain, and we must act to protect them.
The Yellowstone region's grizzly bear population hasn't grown since the early 2000s, fewer cubs are surviving to adulthood, bears have lost key foods due to climate change, and Yellowstone grizzly bears are completely isolated from other grizzly bears, which threatens their long-term survival.
In Park County, Montana, we are seeing grizzly bears moving down to lower elevations as a result of changing food sources and this is leading to more and more human/bear conflicts, making bears incredibly vulnerable to human caused mortality.
Despite all this, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is preparing to remove Endangered Species Act protections ("delisting") later this year and turn management over to the states, who want to immediately begin sport hunting of grizzly bears.
Now is the time to provide scientific planning and adequate protections for the the future of Greater Yellowstone grizzlies. If the bear loses its protections under the Endangered Species Act, it could take decades to regain federal protections.
Please Secretary Jewell -- stop the delisting!
Rep. Haaland has been a leader in working to protect grizzly bears, including by sponsoring the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act.
Thursday, December 15!
Phone number: 202-456-1111
The situation is more dire than ever, and the grizzles badly need your voice. Tell President Obama to continue protection of the Yellowstone grizzly under the Endangered Species Act.
Please act now in support of these treasured animals. The grizzles are counting on you!
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Thank you for speaking up for America's Great Bear. Yellowstone's Grizzly Bears need your help again, now more than ever!
We need to reach 100,000 signatures by the END OF THE DAY, in order to get a response from the president. Can you please help!?
Please sign and share: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/save-yellowstone-grizzly
For the wild,
Michelle Uberuaga
Executive Director
Park County Environmental Council
www.envirocouncil.org
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