THE ATTACK ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
The law that protects our most imperiled wildlife, including grizzlies, is under attack. Here’s what you can do about it.
The Endangered Species Act works because it requires decisions to be based on science, protects the habitat species need to recover, and prevents political interference in listing and delisting. Current proposals in Congress would weaken each of those pillars.
The Endangered Species Amendments Act (H.R. 1897) advanced by House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman would allow economic considerations to shape listing decisions, narrow the definition of critical habitat, and reduce the role of independent science in determining whether species qualify for protection. At the same time, stand-alone delisting bills led by Representative Harriet Hageman and Senator Cynthia Lummis would remove ESA protections for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems by statute and bar judicial review — bypassing the recovery criteria that have guided every successful ESA delisting.
These efforts are reinforced by appropriations riders and regulatory changes that limit habitat protections, restrict the use of climate science in ESA decisions, and weaken landscape-scale conservation measures such as the Roadless Rule. Together, they shift the law away from recovery and toward political discretion.
For grizzly bears, the consequences are immediate. The species still occupies a small fraction of its historic range, and existing populations remain isolated. Recovery in the Northern Rockies depends on managing grizzly bears as one, unified population with secure habitat sufficient to maintain core populations in all the recovery zones, as well as secure habitat in areas of connectivity between them in order to provide for long term genetic stability. Reaching this goal requires implementing a New Vision to ensure grizzlies in the region can thrive for generations to come. Anti-wildlife lawmakers do not care about the bear’s future, and stripping Endangered Species Act protections risks decades of recovery efforts. Legislative delisting would remove existing safeguards, transfer management to states that have adopted trophy-hunting frameworks, and eliminate the federal oversight that makes long-term recovery possible.
Congress is the worst place to determine the future of grizzly bears, as we saw when wolves were stripped of ESA protections in 2011 resulting in massive hunting and trapping quotas, killing contests, and people allowed to torture with little consequence. This must not be the fate for grizzlies! What is being debated is not a technical update to the law, but whether endangered species protection will continue to be driven by science or by politics.
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Grizzlies need you to speak up for them today.
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Members of Congress are trying to bypass science and silence the courts with legislation that would force grizzly delisting—even after courts struck it down—and block any future judicial review. Tell your lawmakers: Vote NO on any delisting effort! https://www.bearsbelong.com/send-a-message
Grizzly bears still face isolation, habitat loss, and state policies that kill bears, including trophy hunting. But some in Congress are ignoring science and considering legislation to strip protections before recovery is complete. Contact your members of Congress and urge them to oppose any delisting effort. https://www.bearsbelong.com/send-a-message
Western lawmakers are treating grizzlies as political pawns by trying to strip federal protections from grizzlies and hand management to hostile states that already kill bears with plans to kill more, including for trophy hunting. Tell your members of Congress Vote NO on any delisting effort. https://www.bearsbelong.com/send-a-message
Congress shouldn’t decide wildlife science by vote. But some lawmakers are playing biologist with legislation that would override court rulings, force grizzly delisting, and silence judicial review. Oppose this attack on the Endangered Species Act. Contact your lawmakers today. https://www.bearsbelong.com/send-a-message
Members of Congress are pushing legislation to strip away grizzly bear protections - the same failed federal policy that courts struck down—and bar future challenges. That’s not recovery. That’s extinction by politics. Urge Congress to reject any effort to remove current protections. https://www.bearsbelong.com/send-a-message
A new 2025 national poll found 85% of Americans support continued ESA protections for grizzlies—including 77% of conservatives and 82% of hunters. But Congress is still considering legislation that goes against the will of the people. Tell Congress: Vote NO on any delisting effort. https://www.bearsbelong.com/send-a-message
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