WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Interior proposed giving Western states and tribes broader authority to manage grizzly bears in recovered areas while retaining the species’ threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.
The revised rule would loosen federal management restrictions where bear populations have met conservation benchmarks, allowing wildlife agencies greater latitude to respond to livestock losses, public-safety threats and other conflicts tied to the species’ expanding range.
The proposal does not delist grizzly bears in the lower 48 states and would not alter existing experimental population designations. Instead, it would revise the special protections governing how listed bears may be managed under Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum framed the proposal as a transfer of day-to-day management authority from the federal government to state officials.
“Grizzly bears have recovered and far exceeded every federal recovery benchmark,” Burgum stated. “Interior is returning conservation leadership to the Western states.”
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte pointed to the growing friction between recovering bear populations and communities across the region.
“Bears have expanded into new areas and conflicts have increased with farmers, ranchers, recreationists, and residents,” Gianforte stated.
Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states have been listed as threatened since 1975. State, tribal and federal conservation programs have since increased populations in several recovery zones, particularly in and around the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems.
The federal government has previously attempted to remove protections from some grizzly populations, but litigation and regulatory challenges have repeatedly complicated those efforts.
The current proposal stops short of delisting. It instead focuses on management flexibility while preserving federal protections and oversight.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik stated that the revision would “right-size management” in areas where recovery has advanced the furthest.
The proposal updates a rule issued in January 2025 but is limited to the Section 4(d) provisions. The Fish and Wildlife Service is not reopening other components of the earlier proposal for review.
The agency will accept public comments for 30 days.
The proposed rule, supporting documents and comment instructions are available at https://www.fws.gov/grizzlyrulemaking.
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