BOISE, ID — Idaho Gov. Brad Little is supporting a proposed federal rule that would give states greater flexibility to manage recovered grizzly bear populations while maintaining protections under the Endangered Species Act.
The proposal was announced Tuesday in Montana by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik, and the governors of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. According to the governor’s office, the proposed rule would provide additional management flexibility in areas where grizzly bear recovery goals have been met while keeping the species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The governor’s office said the proposal follows decades of conservation efforts by states, tribes, federal agencies, private landowners, and local communities that have helped grizzly bear populations recover beyond federal recovery goals in many areas…