Matthew Gould knows plenty about bears. He started with the brown bear, the subject of his Ph.D. dissertation at New Mexico State University. The U.S. Geological Survey wildlife biologist now leads the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. The team provides the science upon which policy makers — in theory — rely.
Originally established by the Interior Department in 1973, the study team includes representatives from four federal agencies, three states and the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribal Fish and Game Department.
The study team members can sometimes disagree, but that’s nothing compared with the intense legal and political debates over the grizzly bear’s status under the Endangered Species Act. It’s currently listed as threatened throughout the lower 48 states. A still-pending proposal issued at the end of the Biden administration would keep the threatened listing limited to existing grizzly populations in Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming. A final decision is due this month, according to the Trump administration’s most recent Unified Agenda.
Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik, a former head of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, has previously voiced his support for an ESA delisting that would turn grizzly bear management over to the states. Environmental groups have repeatedly sued to block that kind of move.
