The grizzly bear debate is loud and now it’s going longer.
Already deluged by more than 50,000 written opinions on whether grizzly bears should retain their Endangered Species Act protections, the Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday extended a public comment period for an additional 60 days to May 16. Farmers and ranchers, among others, contended the original March 17 deadline was coming too soon.
“This proposed rule change is extensive and the timing of its publication has been difficult for ranchers and farmers to fully digest due to the short time period and its correspondence with the busy calving and lambing season, and our state’s Legislative Session,” Nicole Rolf, senior director of governmental affairs of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, stated in a letter dated March 12.
The 90,000-member Idaho Farm Bureau Federation had likewise asked for more time, stating that “it is imperative that all parties, including the new Trump Administration, have ample time to review the justification and science of this rule that was proposed at the conclusion of the Biden Administration.”
