CALL TO ACTION: Contact Wyoming Governor Mead to Oppose Grizzly Bear Trophy Hunt

Wyoming plans to allow the trophy hunting of 24 Yellowstone area grizzly bears this fall. Just a year ago, these bears were protected under the Endangered Species Act. The American people spent millions of dollars to bring this species back from the brink of extinction and now the state of Wyoming will earn a mere $46,800 to allow rich trophy hunters to kill them for fun. National Park bears can be killed as soon as they leave the safety of Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Parks.*

This is not a done deal, however. A recent study has indicated that wildlife watchers contributed greatly to the Wyoming economy. Indeed, wildlife watchers contribute 1.8 times the amount of hunters. The governor has shown that he is aware of the importance of wildlife watchers to the Wyoming economy through recent comments. Let us remind him of our contribution to the economy and how much wildlife watchers abhor the brutality of a trophy hunt of grizzly bears.

Please email, tweet, call, leave Facebook comments and share this post. Be heard. Stand up for grizzly bears.

EMAIL:

Use THIS FORM to email the Governor and let him know that you oppose a grizzly bear trophy hunt.  Please use your own (civil words), personalize the proposed comments below or copy and paste one of the comments below.

I write to oppose Wyoming's plans for a trophy sport hunt of grizzly bears. I have visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I visit primarily to view wildlife - especially grizzly bears! When I visited your state, I spent my tourism dollars at local businesses. I am so upset that Wyoming is not following Montana's lead and abstaining from a grizzly hunt. These majestic animals bring in millions of dollars to the tourism economy. They are important to wildlife watchers who, like me, come from all over the world to view them. Please re-think the planned hunt and cancel it! If not, I will make sure that the next time I visit the Yellowstone region, I stay in Montana. 

OR

I strongly oppose a trophy sport hunt of Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bears. Bears that leave the national park and are the pillars of a billion dollar a year tourism industry could be shot and killed. This would negatively impact the tourism industry and reflect very poorly on Wyoming. The state of Montana has opted to refrain from such a hunt to gain the trust of the public after de-listing of this iconic species. Please consider doing the same and canceling plans for a hunt. 

PHONE CALLS:

Please call the Governor at 307-777-7434 and tell him that you oppose the planned grizzly bear hunt and you will spend your tourism dollars elsewhere if such a hunt goes forward.


TWITTER: 

.@GovMattMead Please call off Wyoming trophy hunt of Yellowstone grizzlies that leave safety of our national parks. 24 bears to be killed this fall! Wildlife watchers contribute 1.8x more to Wyoming's economy than hunters! Hear our voices! #NoGrizHunt pic.twitter.com/RbDdi5cBSh

Wildlife watching tourists contribute 1.8x as much as hunters to #Wyoming economy yet their voices are ignored as state preps for #TrophyHunting of grizzlies outside of #Yellowstone and #GrandTetons National Parks. #NoGrizHunt #ThatsWY @GovMattMead pic.twitter.com/sjkqVazmHU

#Wyoming to allow #TrophyHunting of grizzly bears that leave National Parks this fall! Even though wildlife watching tourists contribute 1.8x as much as hunters! 🐻💔 #ThatsWY #NoGrizHunt #Yellowstone #GrandTetons @GovMattMead pic.twitter.com/Khe9rGFnOW

FACEBOOK:

Leave a comment on Governor Matt Mead's Facebook page HERE asking that he call off the Fall grizzly bear trophy hunt. Leave a personalized comment as a reply to an existing post or copy and paste one of the following:

I have visited to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I visit to view wildlife - especially grizzly bears! I am so upset that Wyoming is not following Montana's lead and abstaining from a trophy sport hunt of grizzly bears. These majestic animals bring in millions of dollars to the tourism economy. They are important to wildlife watchers who, like me, come from all over the world to view them. Please re-think the planned hunt and cancel it! 

OR

I strongly oppose a trophy sport hunt of Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bears. Bears that leave the national park and are the pillars of a billion dollar a year tourism industry could be shot and killed. This would negatively impact the tourism industry and reflect very poorly on Wyoming. The state of Montana opted to refrain from such a hunt to gain the trust of the public after de-listing of this iconic species. Please consider doing the same and canceling plans for a hunt. 

* There is a small buffer zone on the East of Grand Teton national park and within a half mile of a highway.

PUBLIC COMMENTS DUE 1/26: NCDE Grizzly Habitat Conservation Plan

Public comments are due by 11:59 PM EDT on January 26, 2018. Please submit your comment HERE. Do NOT submit your comment on the blog as this is just for ideas for talking points. It needs to be submitted on the Federal Register to count.

Please re-state the following talking points, as much as possible, in your own words. We recommend composing these somewhere that they can be copied and pasted into the Federal Register.  You should consider also copying and pasting them into an email to your Members of Congress, to a local newspaper for a Letter to the Editor, and anyone else who might listen. 

TALKING POINTS: 

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Habitat-Based Recovery Criteria for the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem Grizzly Bears ("HBRC").

- I strongly support NCDE grizzly bears remaining on the Endangered Species list and believe that grizzly bear habitat must be protected.

- The HBRC is outdated. It does not sufficiently address climate change. The changing climate is clearly impacting the NCDE as Glacier National Park has just 26 of its original 150 glaciers left. As the climate changes, NCDE wildlife - including the most charistmic grizzlies - will have to adapt. In addition to climate impacting food sources, we know that climate will affect grizzlies through drought and wildfires - both more prevalent. Because these risks to the NCDE grizzly population are not addressed in the HBRC, it should be revised.

- In addition, the HBRC does not sufficiently address risks to the NCDE population from human development trends in the region. "A recent federal Biological Assessment on grizzlies’ current situation in the Northern Continental Divide region (which covers wildlands stretching from the outskirts of Montana's state capital city, Helena, northward to the U.S.-Canada border) says the human population in Montana has also grown, and 'at a relatively high rate during the past few decades, and growth is expected to continue.'" (What do the Long-term Trends for Grizzlies in the Lower 48 Really Look Like?, Lance Olsen).  As more people move into the region and as more people come in search of recreational opportunities we will see more habitat loss, more habitat fragmentation and more conflict between humans and grizzlies. HBRC does not account for these increased human pressures on grizzly bear habitat.

- The HBRC drops Amendment 19 habitat protect approach. Instead, it permits weaker standards that will allow more logging, roads and infrastructure developments which will fragment habitat. A recent study by Clayton Lamb, from the University of Alberta, demonstrated that more roads equals fewer grizzly bears. This makes clear that Amendment 19 must be retained and applied to national forests with grizzly bear habitat. It is not, Mr. Lamb's study proves that we will lose our grizzlies in these forests. 

- Similarly, given the importance of roadless areas to grizzly bear populations, all existing roadless areas should be protected and those areas should remain free from motorized and mechanized transportation.

- Further, the NCDE ecosystem is not connected with the other lower 48 grizzly bear populations.  True recovery cannot be considered complete when grizzly populations remain disconnected. 

- Finally, as the decision in HSUS v. Zinke recently made clear, USFWS may not delist population segments by sub-ecosystems. Indeed, USFWS is being forced to revisit its erroneous decision to delist Yellowstone grizzlies and just finished accepting public comments on this topic earlier this month. 

For the foregoing reasons, I believe that the HBRC is incomplete and outdated. It does not account for the changing climate and increasing pressure of human development and recreation on grizzly bear habitat. The HBRC needs to be revamped to sufficiently protected grizzly habitat to address these concerns and to link grizzly populations in the lower 48.

PUBLIC COMMENTS DUE 1/8: Object to Cattle Grazing in Upper Green

Photo courtesy of US Forest Service

Oppose the plan to extend cattle grazing in the Bridger Teton National Forest. EMAIL COMMENTS TO: dbooth@fs.fed.us and objections-intermtn-regional-office@fs.fed.us prior to the close of business on January 8, 2018.

TALKING POINTS:

- I object to extend cattle grazing in a place where a national forest where wolves and grizzlies live and that native predators should be given priority. 

- Further, with so many cattle on the land, native prey are driven out. This means that native carnivores invariably turn to cattle for food.

- In particular, Upper Green is a hotspot for grizzly mortality. For instance, between 2011 and 2015, seventeen grizzlies were killed in response to livestock conflicts or 81% of all livestock-related lethal conflicts in the region. 

- Cattle grazing has a detrimental impact on riparian zones and native vegetation.

- As a result, I oppose extending grazing in Upper Green. 

- If grazing is extended, livestock operators must agree to employ a full panoply of non-lethal methods for deterring predators including but not limited to hiring range riders, using fox lights and cleaning up carcasses. Livestock operators should also be required to learn to use and carry bear pepper spray. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS DUE 1/8: ReList the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear

Due to a court decision regarding gray wolves in the Great Lakes, the USFWS must re-consider its decision to delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's grizzly bears. The Service is accepting public comment on whether the referenced decision impacts the delisting rule and "what, if any, further evaluation the Service should consider regarding the remaining grizzly bear populations and lost historical range in light of the Service's decision regarding the GYE grizzly bear."

Public comments must be submitted electronically HERE no later than 11:59 PM EDT on January 8, 2018. We recommend composing your comments in another platform and then copying and pasting the final product into the comments section of the Federal Register. You may want to send a copy of your comment to your members of Congress as well as as a Letter to the Editor of your local paper. PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG BUT ON THE LINK TO THE FEDERAL REGISTER.

TALKING POINTS FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT:

- The ruling in Humane Society v. Zinke makes clear that USFWS cannot address endangered species recovery in a piecemeal fashion. By dividing up grizzly bears in the lower 48 into several regions - Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, Selkirk Ecosystem, etc - the Service is doing exactly that. 

- USFWS did not have the authority to balkanize the grizzly bear species into Distinct Population Segments in order to delist certain segments. Such piecemeal recovery is not true recovery of a species. Either the lower 48 grizzly bears are recovered or they are not. It was not appropriate for USFWS to carve out the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzlies to remove them from the Endangered Species Act's protection.

- Lack of connectivity to other grizzly populations is a long-term genetic risk for Yellowstone grizzlies. (Haroldson, M. A., C. C. Schwartz, K. C. Kendall, K. A. Gunther, D. S. Moody, K. Frey, and D. Paetkau. 2010. Genetic analysis of individual origins supports isolation of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Ursus 21:1–13. BioOne). Idaho and Wyoming’s plans both appear to strongly disfavor reintroduction or facilitating recolonization. (Peer Reviewer #4, pgs 3, 4). Idaho’s plan “clearly states that moving grizzlies into new areas (e.g., Bitterroot) is prohibited and intentions to connect GYE bear populations to these unoccupied areas is vague.” (Peer Reviewer #4, pg 2). Montana’s plan to facilitate reconnection is extremely unclear with no details other than “to manage for discretionary mortality” and having “attractant storage rules”. (Peer Reviewer #4, pg 2). The isolation of this population is problematic for long-term genetic health, evolutionary potential and resilience to catastrophic environmental change. The best available science indicates that Yellowstone ecosystems should be connected with other populations prior to being removed from the protections of the Endangered Species Act.

- The gene pool for the Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bears is too small and is disconnected from other grizzly populations. USFWS and the state fish and game departments have provided no plans to connect the Yellowstone grizzlies with other bear populations and dispersing individuals are subject to persecution, which means that connectivity is unlikely.

- Bears attempting to disperse would be subject to trophy hunting and/or removal due to hostile state management as well as habitat loss from human population and a changing climate. As a result, connecting the Yellowstone population to other grizzly populations is very unlikely and further balkanizes the population.

- USFWS needs to design and implement a recovery program that that ensures that grizzlies from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem naturally colonize the Selway-Bitterroot ecosystem and the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem. This will not happen with states managing Yellowstone area grizzlies and permitting a trophy hunt of these bears.

- Even though there is enough potential habitat available for grizzly bears, USFWS is limiting their recovery to a a mere 3% of their historic range. Grizzly populations cannot connect within this limited range and there is not an adequate representation of ecosystems within this range. Consequently, USFWS must rethink is decision to limit the standard of recover to a loss of 97% of historic grizzly bear distribution and numbers.

PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE:

Center for Biological Diversity
National Parks Conversation Association

PUBLIC COMMENTS DUE 12/14: Save Grizzly Habitat in Shoshone National Forest

Shoshone National Forest plans log about 2000 acres along nine miles of the scenic Chief Joseph Highway between Cody, Wyoming and Cooke City, Montana, including part of a roadless area. This is in prime grizzly bear habitat and studies have recently drive home the importance of maintaining roadless areas for grizzly bears. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS DUE BY DECEMBER 14. Please submit your comments to the following email address: otroxel@fs.fed.us

Olga Troxel, Team Leader
Wapiti Ranger District

TALKING POINTS - please re-word these as much as possible in YOUR OWN WORDS. 

- Thank you for the opportunity to submit public comment on the plan to log 2000 acres of Chief Joseph Scenic Highway between Cody, Wyoming and Cooke City, Montana.

- I oppose the proposed logging plan because I am concerned as to how it will impact grizzly bears. This is prime grizzly bear habitat yet logging in the area will require the introduction of roads. I understand that the roads will be "temporary" but certainly poachers and hunters will find and use these roads during this time period and beyond. Further, studies demonstrate the importance of roadless areas for grizzly bears. They simply do not adapt to wildlife crossings and the like. Instead, we need to maintain as much of our existing roadless habitat as possible. 

- Justification for the planned logging is to prevent a wildfire in the area, to protect some second homes in that area. Studies however demonstrate that removal of fuels more than a few hundred feet is all that is necessary to safeguard homes. I urge the Forest Service to undertake this much less drastic measure of clearing space around structures,  instead of the plan to log 2000 acres. This would have a less deleterious impact on wildlife and habitat. 

- I also object to the plan on the basis of removing dead trees. It is well established that dead trees are a critical part of a healthy ecosystem. First, dead trees are less flammable than live trees. Second, dead trees are important for the storage of carbon - increasingly important in our changing climate. Third, as many as 2/3 of all wildlife species depend on dead trees at some point in their lives. Unnecessarily clearing dead trees obliterates habitat for mammals, insects and birds. Snags are important structural components in a forest. On to the forest floor, dead trees provide habitat for everything from insects to mammals. When dead trees fall into streams, they provide important fish habitat. Removing dead trees upends the ecosystem for no good reason. 

- For the foregoing reasons I oppose the plan to log in the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. 

FOR ADDITIONAL TALKING POINTS, please see this article. 

TWITTER: Follow us on Twitter HERE. 
INSTAGRAM: Please follow us on Instagram HERE. 

CALL TO ACTION: Yes On Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act (H.R. 3894)

Please ask members of the House Natural Resource Committee to support the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act (H.R. 3894). This is particularly important if your representative is on that committee! (List of committee members HERE).

HR3894 was introduced by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva to permanently prohibit trophy hunting of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states and to ensure that tribal leaders are consulted in all grizzly bear conservation and management efforts. Representative Grijalva filed this bill is in response to the Department of the Interior’s controversial decision to remove Endangered Species Act protections from grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

If passed, HR3894 would do the following:

• Ban trophy hunting and non-discriminatory predator control measures that may result in taking of grizzly bears on public lands.

• Permit take and possession of grizzly bears only for certain purposes.

• Require consultation with tribes before issuing permits and before any major federal action that could impact grizzly bears or their habitat.

• Add tribal members to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.

• Create a process for reintroduction of grizzly bears to suitable land of wiling Tribes.

TWITTER: Tweet sheet is HERE.

FACE BOOK: Please leave the following comment, or one in your own words, on the Natural Resources Committee Facebook page. 

I fully support HR 3894 Tribal Heritage and grizzly bear protection Act.  I am deeply concerned about the removal Yellowstone area grizzly bears from Endangered Species list.  

EMAILS, CALLS AND RESIST BOT: If your representative is on this committee (HERE is list of committee members), please contact him or hear and for a YES VOTE ON HR3894. Contact information can be found HERE. Please explain in your own words why this bill matters to you.  

TWEET SHEET: Yes On HR3984

Thank U .@RepRaulGrijalva for bill HR3984, permanently banning grizzly hunting in lower 48, giving tribes a say! pic.twitter.com/H0qTx2xxOj

.@gracenapolitano @RepJimCosta Vote #YESonHR3984 to ban grizzly hunting lower 48; give tribes a say! #NoGrizHunt pic.twitter.com/MOqwn2aPy5

.@nikiinthehouse @RepHuffman Vote #YESonHR3984 to ban grizzly hunting in lower 48, give tribes a say! #NoGrizHunt pic.twitter.com/vpHnc6yghE

.@RepLowenthal @RepDonBeyer Vote #YESOnHR3894 to ban grizzly bear trophy hunt in lower 48, give tribes a voice! pic.twitter.com/0Z2Rpy2cLb

.@NormaJTorres @RepRubenGallego Ban grizzly trophy hunt in lower 48, give tribes a say! #YESonHR3894 #NoGrizHunt pic.twitter.com/IFq93QDKQ1

.@RepHanabusa @RepBarragan Give tribes a say in managing sacred grizzly! Ban griz hunt in lower 48 #YESonHR3894 pic.twitter.com/TEtOWsr4aO

.@RepDarrenSoto @RepMcEachin Give tribes a say in managing sacred grizzly! Ban griz hunt in lower 48 #YESonHR3894 pic.twitter.com/rTHmLJNP98

.@RepAnthonyBrown @LacyClayMO1 Give tribes a say in managing grizzly bear! Ban griz hunt in lower 48 #YESonHR3894 pic.twitter.com/8VEX6D8Rt4

.@RepJimmyGomez @RepJenniffer Give tribes a say in managing sacred grizzly bear. #YESonHR3894 #ProtectSacredGriz pic.twitter.com/ex7Xz4VDlZ

.@RepWebster @RepAmata Give tribes a say in managing sacred grizzly. #YESonHR3894 #ProtectSacredGriz #NoGrizHunt pic.twitter.com/cbuyJ1e9xE

.@RepPaulCook @RepJeffDenham Vote #YESOnHR3894 to ban grizzly bear trophy hunt in lower 48, give tribes a voice! pic.twitter.com/TG6GxgiUXn

.@RepLaMalfa @RepTipton Give tribes a voice in managing sacred grizzly bear. #YESonHR3894 #ProtectSacredGriz pic.twitter.com/PButbbXXGG

.@RepStevePearce @RepMcClintock Give tribes a voice in managing the sacred grizzly bear. #YESonHR3894 pic.twitter.com/b7A6pQdqyr