Republican Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale has renewed his calls to remove the grizzly bear from the endangered species list after a woman was killed by one near Yellowstone National Park.
“Tragedies like this are preventable,” Rosendale said on Monday.
“The grizzly bear has exceeded set recovery targets. It’s time for Congress to pass my bill to delist the grizzly bear and return management to Montanans.”
Tragedies like this are preventable.
The grizzly bear has exceeded set recovery targets. It’s time for Congress to pass my bill to delist the grizzly bear and return management to Montanans.https://t.co/QvffRiSt1d
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) July 24, 2023
Rosendale’s bill, the Comprehensive Grizzly Bear Management Act of 2023, was introduced in March and passed the House Committee on Natural Resources in April.
“Since grizzly bears were first listed under the Endangered Species Act, they have exceeded the set recovery targets — now, there are over 1,100 grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem alone,” Rosendale said in a news release at the time.
“I’m grateful that my colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee recognize that the federal government must allow Montana to manage our grizzly bear population.”
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Amie Adamson, 48, was mauled by a grizzly bear in southern Montana on Saturday, according to ABC News. Her body was found on a hiking trail outside Yellowstone National Park.
“Tracks of a grizzly bear and at least one cub were found at the scene of the attack,” ABC reported, and “a trail camera captured an image of a grizzly bear with two cubs in the area on Saturday night.”
Officials have set bear traps for the grizzly that killed Adamson but have not yet been able to capture it.
The attack comes as grizzly bear sightings have become more common in the area.
According to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the species was listed as threatened in 1975 and placed under the management of the federal government.
Since then, populations have recovered and increased, including in “places where the human population is expanding, creating a greater potential for conflicts,” the department added.
At least nine people have been killed by grizzlies in and around Yellowstone since 2010, according to ABC.
