THE SOURCE
GRIZZLY BEARS REMAIN LISTED ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
Greater Yellowstone grizzly bears represent the wild, resilient nature of this special region. Thanks to coordinated conservation efforts over the last half century, grizzly bears living in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems have made a remarkable comeback under Endangered Species Act protections.
Grizzly bears living in the lower 48 states were listed as a Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act in 1975, when only 130 bears were living in and around Yellowstone. Today, between 950 and 1,000 grizzly bears roam Greater Yellowstone.
On January 8, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the decision to keep grizzly populations listed under the Act. The Service also proposed some next steps highlighting the unique needs of grizzlies and
charting a durable path for improved co-management with states so communities have the best available tools for living alongside bears. This decision recognizes the success of decades of investments and community-based conservation efforts, and the need for continued collaboration.
Our goal is to ensure that any future transition to state management maintains and builds upon this conservation success long into the future.
GYC has been at the forefront of grizzly bear conservation for more than 40 years—and our work will continue. Living with grizzly bears isn’t always easy, but we believe people and bears can thrive on shared landscapes.
GYC implements many on-the-ground projects, including the placement of
bear-resistant trash cans and storage containers, range riding, carcass management, and bear conflict prevention education, to keep people safe, bears wild, and livelihoods intact. Thanks to donors like you, this work will continue into the future.
Now, we need you to make your voice heard for grizzly bears by March 17.
Please tell the USFWS that grizzly bear management decisions should be driven by science and wildlife experts, not politicians. Head over to greateryellowstone.org/actforgriz or via the QR code to submit your personalized comments.
Thank you for taking action!
Photo Jonathan Steele
GYC HELPS MODIFY MORE THAN 16 MILES OF WILDLIFE-FRIENDLY FENCING
To be good neighbors and stewards of this region, GYC works in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to create wildlifefriendly fences.
While fences are needed as boundaries or to keep livestock contained, they serve as a barrier to wildlife moving across the land. Whether animals are traveling during seasonal migrations or in search of food, fences can prevent wildlife from reaching the habitat and resources they need.
There are a few ways to make a fence wildlife friendly while maintaining their effectiveness for livestock. Fences can be modified to lower the top wire and raise the bottom wire to make it easier for animals to jump over or slide under.
Most fences in the West are barbed wire – by replacing the top fence wire with smooth wire, we can lower the chances of wildlife getting caught or injured. Woven wire – gridded fence – is also common and prevents wildlife from going under fences.
By removing woven wire or replacing
it with strands of wire, wildlife like pronghorn that prefer to go under fences can traverse them. If fences aren’t in use, removing them is a great option.
In 2024, GYC supported 11 fencing projects that removed or modified more than 16 miles of fence. Here are just a few of the projects we participated in last year.
The Papoose Creek drainage in Montana’s Madison Valley is heavily used by elk, mule deer, and pronghorn and is important riverside habitat for these species. GYC provided financial support for several miles of “flop fence.”
Flop fence is made to flop rather than break when crossed by wildlife and keep animals from getting injured, or worse, while keeping fences intact.
In Cody, Wyoming, GYC works as part of the Absaroka Fence Initiative (AFI) to ensure fences are functional for livestock management and wildlife movement through on-the-ground
projects, public workdays, and outreach to the community.
AFI is a partnership among the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Forest Service, Wyoming Game & Fish Department, The Nature Conservancy, GYC, and private landowners.
For National Public Lands Day, AFI modified more than two miles of fence within a BLM parcel on the South YU Bench southeast of Cody. Volunteers removed the bottom wire to allow the Carter Mountain Pronghorn Herd to move more freely across the landscape and removed the top wire to assist other wildlife.
GYC’s Board of Directors got out in the field to modify an additional 0.65 miles of fence for the Carter Mountain Pronghorn Herd this summer.
These projects are made possible by incredible partnerships and by donors like you. Thank you for supporting wildlife migration and movement across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem!
Yellowstone’s bison are the most beloved and iconic population of this once wide-ranging species. They play critically important roles ecologically, economically, and culturally.
Back in June 2024, Yellowstone National Park released a new bison management plan. This important moment marked a positive step forward in conserving and restoring America’s national mammal.
However, despite the Park Service’s inclusive and collaborative planning process, the State of Montana filed a frivolous lawsuit on December 31, 2024 against the park’s new plan.
The new plan maintains a framework that addresses Montana’s concerns over issues like brucellosis transmission to livestock, and it solidifies the progress made by the Interagency Bison Management Plan partners –which includes the state – through an ongoing collaborative process over the past two decades.
Contrary to what the state asserts, Montana has been at the table every step of the way and was even offered
the opportunity by Park Service leadership to draft its own alternative to be considered in the planning process all the way back in April 2022. The state apparently declined that offer, but now claims it was not adequately consulted.
At the heart of the state’s lawsuit is the demand to cut Yellowstone’s bison herd by nearly half. About 5,400 bison currently roam in the park.
This demand comes despite the new plan setting a population range that is well within the 10-year average that has allowed Yellowstone managers to successfully maintain separation between bison and cattle, resulting in zero brucellosis transmissions and few conflicts with landowners north and west of the park.
To achieve the state’s goal of killing more than 2,000 bison, the park would be forced to aggressively haze and kill animals migrating toward the park boundary as well as in Yellowstone’s interior.
These actions could substantially decrease the genetic diversity of the
herd and threaten the population’s long-term viability.
Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on a frivolous lawsuit, the state should commit to working in good faith with Yellowstone and the many other interests at the table to successfully manage this world-renowned, crossboundary wildlife population.
GYC will stay at the table, and we hope the state’s leaders will decide to put politics and pointless lawsuits aside and instead pull up a chair.
MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WORK
SHANA DRIMAL
Shana leads GYC’s bison program, advocating for a science-based approach to their management and working to restore Yellowstone bison to Tribal and ancestral lands. She just celebrated her ten-year anniversary with GYC.
NEW YELLOWSTONE BISON PLAN
MONTANA FILES FRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT OVER
Wildlife Conservation Manager
GRAND TETON GROWS BY 640 ACRES WITH KELLY PARCEL SALE
On December 30, 2024, the Department of the Interior officially purchased the Kelly Parcel from the State of Wyoming for $100 million. GYC is grateful to the Grand Teton National Park Foundation for raising $37.6 million and to federal partners at the Land and Water Conservation Fund for providing the remaining funds. This enormous conservation win grows Grand Teton National Park by 640 acres and highlights the broad support for protecting public lands, wildlife migration corridors, and habitat.
The Kelly Parcel is truly a one-of-akind piece of land. Filled with vibrant sagebrush and patches of conifers, it’s a vast paradise for herds of elk, pronghorn, and deer. It’s even a part of the famed Path of the Pronghorn — the longest land migration found in the lower 48. Moose and grizzly bears also frequent the area, taking advantage of the unobstructed landscape to forage and travel. It’s clear that places like the Kelly Parcel must be protected for generations to come!
Join us this spring at one (or more!) of our FREE and popular webinars.
Thursday, April 10
Stopping the Kilgore Gold Exploration Project with Idaho Conservation Organizer Tom Hallberg
Thursday, April 24
Grizzly Bear-Conflict Prevention Projects with The Volgenau Foundation Wildlife Conservation Associate Blakeley Adkins and Montana Conservation Associate Erin Steva
Thursday, May 8
Enhancing Wildlife Habitat Connectivity with Senior Wyoming Conservation Associate Erin Welty
Mid-May
TBD DONOR-EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR
RSVP today at greateryellowstone.org/events
BECOME A RECURRING DONOR FOR GYC
Give the gift that keeps on giving! Your recurring gift helps protect this remarkable place and the wildlife that live here while offering a steady stream of dependable revenue that allows us to continue this important work well into the future.
We are grateful for your commitment to protecting Greater Yellowstone. Donate now at greateryellowstone. org/monthly or by scanning the QR code.
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THANK YOU for all you do to protect the wild heart of North America, now and for future generations.
Photo Stephen Williams