Wilson, WY – Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) issued the following statement in support of Gov. Mark Gordon’s petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear and give the state of Wyoming management over the population.
“I commend Governor Gordon for filing a petition to require the Biden Administration to delist the GYE grizzly bear and allow Wyoming to manage the population.
“The intention of the Endangered Species Act was good, but the implementation has been ineffective and the law is in dire need of reform. As we have seen with the grizzly bear, the federal government has continued to move the goalposts and unnecessarily prolong its delisting, even though the species has been fully-recovered for nearly two decades.
“In Wyoming and across the West, we have witnessed effective state management resulting in the recovery of the grizzly bear population. It is imperative that the federal government adhere to the work being done on the ground by local stakeholders and empower them to manage these populations without interference.
“As I’ve emphasized before through legislation and letters, I remain committed to the delisting of the grizzly bear, and I look forward to continuing these efforts in Washington.”
BACKGROUND:
During the 117th Congress, Rep. Cheney has taken the following action to emphasize the importance of reforming the ESA and push for the delisting of the grizzly bear:
- HR 1403: Grizzly Bear State Management Act of 2021 — Requires the Department of the Interior to remove the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem population of grizzly bears from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife.
- Co-signed a letter to Interior Secretary Haaland questioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s assessment to maintain the grizzly bear listing as threatened and requesting DOI answer questions regarding their recent species assessment even though in the GYE area they have met their recovery criteria.
Original source can be found here.
