Native Americans from seven U.S. states and Canada are suing the United States’ federal government over its recent decision to remove grizzly bears from the endangered and threatened species list. Their lawsuit alleges that the government failed to consult with Native American groups and that the delisting violates their religion.
In June, U.S. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke announced that grizzly bears would be removed from the Endangered Species List. He cited the bears’ population increasing from “as few as 136 bears in 1975 to an estimated 700 today.”
There were once between 50,000 and 100,000 grizzly bears roaming the U.S. Today an estimated 1% of that population remains and they have been removed from 98% of their original range in the contiguous United States.
Delisting removes federal protections and management and shifts it to states who are able to create their own plans which may include hunting of grizzly bears. State management of endangered or threatened species is problematic for several reasons. One clear concern is coordination. Whereas a federal law ensures holistic management practices across bears’ whole ecosystem, delisting puts states in charge and they may or may not work with each other effectively to manage grizzlies and their ecosystems.
In March 2016, the government began working to delist grizzly bears (again). During this process they are required to contact and consult with tribes. Only four tribes were consulted initially. A year later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reached out to more than 50 other tribes and told them they could participate in “an online seminar.” Tribes refused, as federal law requires meaningful and direct intergovernmental collaboration.
The lawsuit is being filed by nine tribes and several spiritual societies and leaders. Over 120 tribes have signed a historic cross-border Grizzly Treaty to protect the bear. This signing signaled wide agreement that these animals are sacred and “not a trophy for the affluent to kill for sport,” as a signatory from the Hopi Bear Clan stated.
Bears are important symbols in Native American religion and culture. Some tribes view the animals as their brothers and sisters. Others see the bear as a spiritual mother, protector, or medicine man. Regardless of their specific relationship, the tribes are united in their deep respect for the bears and the struggle to protect them.
This will give gun-toting US Citizens the green light to shoot bears (as if they needed one). Are there not more important things to rectify than make up this crazy story to make it sound sensible?
Wow…Could someone please loan the government a big read calculator so they can see the numbers!…if you have at one time, say 70,000, and now you only have 700 that gives you the 1%…..and that makes them an endangered species!!…The government have got to start using their heads for something more than keeping the shoulders apart!!
Power to these tribes and all the best to them and especially the bears!!! All wild animals are literally on the endangered list as long as humans keep procreating, confiscating land and resources, and killing them for egotistical purposes.
I SAY LEAVE THE BEAR TO GOD! IT IS NOT Man,s right to decide what bears can live,it is the bears right.
The US government could learn a great deal from the native american tribes about respect and wholistic earth care.
Brown Bears, Grizzly Bears, Cougars, Eagles, Seals and a host of other native mammals to North America Should have but Don’t have the protection they need. There is never “(even when encroachment upon human habitat)” [generally because we humans expand to take over ALL THE LAND And say it’s ours because we paid paper for it… ] a reason to kill any one of these species and laws to protect them and punish poachers (just as in Africa with leathal force) to bring an end to the slaughter of these sentient beings just for a Gall bladder, or a trophy head for a wall. It greatly disgusts me !!!!
These beautiful creatures need protection from the clowns who carry big firearms to compensate for their tiny dicks. Here’s a thought… why don’t hunters just go out and shoot other hunters? Sounds like a win-win for sane people and animals!
good for them. i hope they win…all bears need protection…we live in a happy hunter country where people still think it appropriate to go out and kill for a thrill…there is no need now with the raising of livestock to go out and kill…leave them alone they have spirits and souls and are just trying to survive in a world where there land gets smaller and smaller because we are encrouching on it…protect them with every fight left in your blood for our kids to see.
i’d like to put government on the unendangered list{and no i’m not planning on killing them off}. we have got to get everybody to understand that if we keep killings wild life there will be nothing to kill but humans and that is a horrible picture.
Leave the bears alone — let them live — do NOT kill them (no matter what your reason) — they have every RIGHT to live their lives — bears are an asset to our natural environment and our planet NEEDS them.