Sierra Club Denounces Approval of Wyoming Grizzly Bear Hunt on the Border of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Lander, WY-- The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission today approved a hunting season for grizzly bears for the first time in over 40 years, beginning September 1. Just months after Yellowstone grizzly bears were removed from the Endangered Species list, Wyoming will allow nearly two dozen grizzlies to be killed for trophies as soon as they step over the border of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The announcement comes despite strong public and tribal opposition to trophy hunting of the iconic bear and ongoing litigation challenging the removal of Endangered Species Act protections.

In response, Bonnie Rice of the Sierra Club’s Greater Yellowstone campaign, released the following statement:

"This is a very sad day for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region. Wyoming’s decision to allow up to 23 grizzly bears to be killed, including 13 females, just for a trophy on a wall marks a huge setback for grizzly bear recovery.

“Allowing a trophy hunt of these majestic animals -- the  second-slowest mammal to reproduce in North America -- so soon after they lost Endangered Species protections does nothing to build public confidence in state management of grizzly bears. Even worse, Wyoming’s trophy hunt plan is specifically designed to reduce the Yellowstone grizzly population and  eradicate bears from many places where they live today in Wyoming.

“Grizzly bears exist today in the Yellowstone region because the American people made a conscious effort to make the space in our hearts and minds to co-exist with them and to bring them back from the brink of extinction. Grizzlies survive in our midst only by that grace. We can and must do better than this.”