WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) released the following statement after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem may qualify as its own distinct population segment and may warrant removal from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife.

“This announcement is welcome news for Wyoming. Grizzly bears of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, by all scientific measures, are fully recovered. Administrations of both parties have repeatedly recognized this fact,” said Sen. Lummis. “Grizzly bears are an essential part of Wyoming’s ecosystem, but keeping them listed hurts their population more than it helps them. I am glad Wyoming’s concerns and findings were heard, and look forward to seeing the results of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s study on the grizzly. I’m hopeful the decision to delist the grizzly is not impacted by out of state environmental extremists who don’t truly understand the science.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will now complete a 12-month status review of the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and decide after this study if it is time to delist the grizzly.