Wyoming’s US Senator Cynthia Lummis questioned Shannon Estenoz, President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary of Fish and Wildlife and Parks of the Department of Interior, about the Greater Yellowstone Area grizzly bear population. Lummis noted that “one of the great success stories of the Endangered Species Act since it was enacted is grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.” She pointed out that the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the Bush Administration, the Obama Administration, and the Trump Administration all agreed that the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear population has recovered and should be delisted.
Estenoz agreed that the Yellowstone area grizzly “is doing very, very well,” and noted that, “It’s really important for folks to feel supported and listened to and that we have the right tools in the toolbox to help folks live and exist with a recovering predator species.”
Estenoz maintained that state management and state expertise is central to this approach. Estenoz said if she is confirmed she will prioritize working with communities to “recover,” or delist, predators in particular.
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