1. United States
2. R.I.
3. Letter

I urge Congress to defend federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for grizzly bears and conduct immediate oversight of the Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding proposed changes to lower-48 grizzly management under §4(d) of the ESA. The federal government should not formally recognize grizzly bears as threatened while simultaneously weakening the protections that make that designation meaningful. If grizzlies remain threatened under federal law, the federal government must remain an effective conservation backstop. Recovery cannot be measured by population numbers alone. Grizzlies occupy only a fraction of their historic range, while populations continue to face human-caused mortality, habitat fragmentation, inadequate genetic connectivity, development, and climate-related ecological changes. Isolated populations are not equivalent to a fully recovered, connected, and resilient species. Congress should investigate whether Interior’s proposed use of §4(d) is consistent with the ESA’s conservation mandate and whether expanded state authority over relocation and lethal removal could undermine recovery. State wildlife agencies have an important role, but they cannot replace federal responsibility for a federally protected species. Grizzlies cross state, federal, Tribal, and private boundaries; their conservation requires coordinated management based on the best available science rather than changing political priorities among jurisdictions. I ask Congress to: 1 Hold oversight hearings examining Interior’s proposed §4(d) rule and require its scientific and legal justification. 2 Preserve meaningful federal authority over ESA-listed grizzly bears and require transparent reporting of mortality, lethal removals, relocations, population connectivity, and state management actions. 3 Oppose appropriations riders or legislation that would delist grizzly populations or circumvent ordinary ESA scientific, administrative, and judicial review. 4 Use Congress’s appropriations and oversight powers to prevent administrative exemptions from creating a de facto delisting while grizzlies remain federally threatened. 5 Protect and restore habitat corridors connecting grizzly populations and prioritize proven nonlethal methods of preventing human-bear conflicts. 6 Require federal agencies to consider cumulative threats to grizzly recovery, including habitat fragmentation and changes affecting federal public lands. Grizzly bears were driven from most of the American landscapes they once inhabited. Their gradual return demonstrates why the Endangered Species Act matters. That progress should not become the justification for dismantling the protections that made it possible. Please defend the ESA, preserve meaningful federal protection for lower-48 grizzly bears, and ensure that any management change advances genuine biological recovery rather than weakening protections through administrative action.