Following the delisting of the Yellowstone grizzly population, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks has proposed a new administrative rule to detail the population objectives for grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE).

The NCDE consists of Glacier National Park and parts of five national forests that include the Bob Marshal Wilderness as well as a buffer zone.

“By proposing this administrative rule, we are committing to keeping a viable and healthy population of grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem,” said FWP director Martha Williams. “It’s an important step toward federal delisting of the bears, as well as an important piece for the future of grizzly bear conservation and management in Montana.”

The vote for the proposed rule will be held August 9th. If approved, it will move to public comment before going back to the commission in December for final approval.

Grizzly bears in the region have met the recovery goals outlined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, however they remain protected under the Endangered Species Act. Regulations must be in place to manage the species and ensure they will not be threatened or endangered before they can be removed from the list.

RMEF maintains that predators have a proper place on the landscape and should be managed scientifically by state wildlife agencies, like all other wildlife, in accordance with the North American Wildlife Conservation Model.