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For Immediate Release
U.S. Forest Service Asked to Ensure Safeguards for Yellowstone Grizzly Habitat
Defenders of Wildlife petitions for mandatory protections on national forest lands
WASHINGTON - Defenders of Wildlife today petitioned the U.S. Forest Service to ensure that Yellowstone grizzly bear habitat remains preserved now that the bears are no longer protected under the Endangered Species Act.
“We commend the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its hard work recovering the Yellowstone grizzlies, but more needs to be done to ensure the long-term survival of these majestic bears,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “State and federal agencies have developed a sound and comprehensive Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy, but the Bush administration’s continued efforts to roll back protections on National Forest lands cast a cloud of uncertainty over the bear’s long-term status as a recovered species. We are asking that the Forest Service take extra steps to ensure the grizzly bear’s continued recovery and to fulfill its responsibility under the Conservation Strategy to preserve grizzly bear habitat.”
Last year, during the delisting process for the Yellowstone grizzly, Defenders of Wildlife voiced concern over recent Bush administration regulatory changes to the National Forest Management Act, which could allow grizzly bear habitat protections to be removed from forest plans during the revision process, and could render the Conservation Strategy for grizzly bears unenforceable in the six national forests in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
Defenders also expressed concern that the Bush administration’s continued efforts to weaken protection for roadless areas made grizzly bear conservation uncertain. All six of the Yellowstone forests contain large expanses of roadless areas vital to the species, and without roadless rule protections, they would be open to oil and gas drilling, road construction and other development. Since then, in response to a series of legal actions brought by Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation groups, federal judges have reinstated the roadless area protection rule and rejected the Bush planning regulations. However, legal uncertainty still surrounds the roadless rule: last year’s decision is on appeal, and the state of Wyoming has revived its lawsuit against the rule.
In light of these uncertainties and the need to ensure that adequate conservation measures for grizzly bears remain in place, Defenders’ petition asks that the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy and Forest Plan amendments be given the force and effect of law, and that road construction be prohibited on National Forest roadless areas within the greater Yellowstone area. The petition also seeks grizzly bear habitat protection for areas where whitebark pine, a major Yellowstone grizzly bear food source, is expected to survive the effects of global warming, such as Wyoming’s Wind River Range.
“Defenders of Wildlife supports the delisting of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population, but we strongly believe that enforceable forest plan standards are necessary to ensure future Yellowstone grizzly viability,” Clark continued. “Although we are confident that the courts and Congress will ultimately halt the Administration’s efforts to rollback national forest protections, our petition seeks to ensure that the Forest Service is committed in any case to protecting the grizzly’s habitat and fulfilling its responsibilities for its recovery.”
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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 900,000 members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.
