Endangered Species Act Does its Job,
Bush Administration Doesn't
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Defenders of Wildlife today hailed the
grizzly bear's dramatic comeback in the Yellowstone region, but noted that
rollbacks in national forest protection by the Bush administration pose a
threat to sustaining the bear's recovery. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) will announce tomorrow that it will move to declare the grizzly bear
recovered in and around Yellowstone.
"The Endangered Species Act has been a roaring success for the grizzly
bear in Yellowstone. We can celebrate the fact that the bear has met and
exceeded recovery goals," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president
for Defenders of Wildlife and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. "The Endangered Species Act has done its job, and the wildlife
professionals have done their jobs. Unfortunately, the Bush administration
has not done its job of ensuring the long-term protection of the bears. By
weakening national forest management and eliminating roadless area
protections, the White House has created doubt about the lasting recovery of
Yellowstone's grizzlies."
In the Yellowstone ecosystem, numbers of grizzly bears have grown steadily
since they were first listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act
in 1975. At a low of around 200 animals when listed, the grizzly may now
number more than 600 in and around Yellowstone National Park, and the
population is increasing between four and seven percent each year. With
proper management of habitat and key food sources, scientists estimate a 96
percent likelihood of having a healthy grizzly bear population in the
Yellowstone ecosystem for the next 500 years.
"While the grizzly bear has clearly met the recovery goals, by law
delisting can only happen when there are legally binding protections in place
for grizzly bear habitat on national forest lands," said Clark. "Due to the
Bush administration's wrecking ball approach to national forest management,
the necessary regulatory safeguards are not in place at this time to support
delisting."
The Bush Administration has orchestrated dramatic rollbacks of forest
protections that could result in extensive road building and drilling in
forests that are now protected. Forest planning rules that once ensured
healthy wildlife populations in forests owned by the American people have been
changed to eliminate mandatory protections for wildlife and its habitat.
"Defenders of Wildlife will submit comments to the Fish and Wildlife
Service that highlight the lack of regulatory safeguards, caused by the Bush
administration's rollbacks in national forest protections, that are needed to
ensure the long-term protection of grizzly bears," said Clark. "We will
insist that, if the Yellowstone population is delisted, the Secretary of the
Interior must make a clear commitment to relist the bears if the Forest
Service or the states fail to live up to their promises to protect bear
habitat and reduce bear mortality."
In 1997, Defenders of Wildlife created a companion to its highly
successful wolf compensation program, establishing The Bailey Wildlife
Foundation Grizzly Compensation Trust, which compensates livestock owners for
the full value of animals confirmed killed by grizzly bears. Defenders then
created The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Proactive Carnivore Conservation Fund
to perform community education in wolf and bear country and to cost-share with
livestock growers, state, tribal and federal agencies, backcountry outfitters
and others on measures to keep predation from happening in the first place.
These innovative programs have worked to improve the acceptance of large
carnivores in local communities where they are recovering.
Defenders of Wildlife is a leading nonprofit conservation organization
recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and
its habitat. With more than 490,000 members and supporters, Defenders of
Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues.
SOURCE Defenders of Wildlife
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Related links:
http://www.defenders.org
CONTACT:
William Lutz, +1-202-772-0269, or Brad
DeVries, +1-202-772-0237, both of Defenders of Wildlife
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