US may lift protections for Yellowstone, Glacier grizzlies

By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials have taken the first step to lift federal protections for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains, which would open the door to future hunting in several states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says governors from Montana, Idaho and Wyoming provided substantial evidence grizzlies have recovered from the threat of extinction in the regions surrounding Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. Friday’s move kicks off a yearlong study before a final decision. Grizzlies were wiped out in most of the U.S. early last century by overhunting and trapping. There are now more than 2,000 bears in the Lower 48 states and much larger populations in Alaska.