ABSTRACT

Grizzly bear conservation efforts in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) represent one of the most high-profile, successful, and contentious conservation efforts under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 1974, a National Academy of Sciences Committee on Yellowstone Grizzlies observed the grizzly bear to be “widely recognized as a species confined to wild areas … a symbol of wilderness … and thus [it] attracts the enthusiastic support of those devoted to maintaining intact wilderness ecosystems.” The story of grizzly bear conservation efforts has borne out the committee’s assessment. An analysis of the listing and recovery of the grizzly bear in the GYE under the ESA provides an illustrative chronicle of state and federal cooperation and travails in conserving wildlife species and their ecosystems. The major agencies involved in grizzly bear conservation in the GYE include the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Park Service (NPS), United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Geological Survey (USGS), Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGF), Idaho Game and Fish Department (IGF), and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (MFWP). This chapter analyzes the responsibilities and concerns of these agencies vis-à-vis grizzly bear conservation in the GYE and underlying political and economic considerations. In discussing the roles of the concerned agencies, particular emphasis is directed to two agencies, USFWS and WGF. USFWS is the lead agency coordinating grizzly bear conservation in the lower 48 states, including the GYE. WGF has jurisdiction over the majority of the GYE (outside the National Parks) and has the largest state agency role in grizzly conservation efforts in the Yellowstone region.