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A group of GOP Congress members released an alternative to President Joe Biden’s 30×30 land conservation initiative on Tuesday, pushing for more attention to productive management of working lands. “Conservation is part of our Montana way of life — we know how to be good stewards of our lands,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, wrote of the proposal.  “I believe it’s a conservative principle to conserve,” Daines wrote. “That’s why I’m pushing a new ‘Western Conservation Principles’ initiative that uses science-based, time-tested, locally driven practices to bring about meaningful conservation outcomes, unlike President Biden’s vague 30×30 initiative.” Daines co-authored the 9-page document with Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington. The version released

Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced the Grizzly Bear State Management Act of 2021 alongside Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, Senators Mike Crapo and James Risch of Idaho and Senator Steve Daines of Montana. This bill would remove grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from the Endangered Species List and shift management of the grizzlies to wildlife scientists in the states.

In 1975, there were 136 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In 2019, there were 728 bears, evidence of an effective conservation effort. At this point, grizzly numbers have been in the 700s for a number of years.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team’s analysis suggests that the park is at or near its ecological carrying capacity for grizzly bears. In making the bill’s introduction, Lummis remarked, “It’s time to remove the grizzlies in this area from the Endangered Species List and allow wildlife scientists in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho to manage the populations according to science.” The companion version of this legislation was previously introduced in the House by Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

Western Republican senators have reinforced a congressional effort to remove Endangered Species Act protections from Yellowstone-area grizzly bears.

Echoing an earlier House effort, five GOP lawmakers last Thursday introduced the Senate version of what they call the “Grizzly Bear State Management Act.”

The bill would remove grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from the ESA list, shift their management to the states and block judicial review of the move.

“By all scientific measures, the grizzly bears of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are fully recovered,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming. “Reproductive numbers are stable, and the population is at or near its max capacity for the habitat.”

Lummis joined Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, Mike Crapo and James Risch of Idaho, and Steve Daines of Montana in introducing the bill. Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming has introduced a companion measure in the House (E&E Daily, March 2).

There are about 1,800 grizzly bears in the Lower 48, including roughly 700 in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which includes parts of northwest Wyoming, southwest Montana and eastern Idaho.

The Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 deemed the Greater Yellowstone grizzly as a distinct population segment and delisted it. Following a legal challenge, FWS in 2017 again delisted the Yellowstone population after concluding its numbers had rebounded.

In 2018, Montana-based U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen ruled that FWS had exceeded its authority and had failed to consider how reduced protections in the Yellowstone region would affect other grizzly populations.

“It’s disturbing to see Western lawmakers try to blatantly sidestep the science showing that grizzly bears should remain federal protected under the Endangered Species Act,” Andrea Zaccardi, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said yesterday. “We’re hopeful this bill dies a quick death in Congress.”

Another large swath of timberland in Northwest Montana will remain open to the public in perpetuity after groups finalized the purchase of the Lost Trail Conservation Easement. The 7,256-acre parcel near Marion will complement an existing network of public lands stretching across Flathead, Lake, Lincoln and Sanders counties. Situated within the recently proposed 100,000-acre U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lost Trail Conservation Area, the prized single block of land also shares nearly 7 miles of border with the 7,876-acre Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge near Kalispell and is close to the sprawling 142,200-acre Thompson-Fisher Conservation Easement. The property protects the