Grizzly Bear State Management Act
The Grizzly Bear State Management Act would require the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the 2017 final rule that removed the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) population of grizzly bears from the federal Endangered and Threatened Wildlife list. The reissuance must occur within 180 days of enactment and would be allowed “without regard to any other provision of law” that would normally govern issuing such a rule. Additionally, the bill states that the reissuance (and the rule itself) would not be subject to judicial review. In effect, if enacted, the federal protection for GYE grizzly bears would be reestablished as delisted, and federal oversight or constraints on the reissued rule would be limited, potentially transferring more management authority to state wildlife agencies.
Key Points
- 1Reissuance deadline: The Secretary of the Interior must reissue the final rule removing the GYE grizzly bears from the federal list within 180 days of enactment.
- 2Target rule: The reissuance concerns the 2017 final rule entitled “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Population of Grizzly Bears From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife” (82 Fed. Reg. 30502, June 30, 2017).
- 3Legal standard: The reissuance may be issued “without regard to any other provision of law” that typically applies to issuing that final rule, effectively bypassing some standard statutory or regulatory protections.
- 4Judicial review: The reissuance, including this section, would not be subject to judicial review, limiting the courts’ ability to challenge the action.
- 5Scope of the bill: The text provided focuses on reissuing the 2017 delisting rule; it does not detail other policy changes beyond that reissuance.