US will keep protecting more than 2,000 Rocky Mountain grizzly bears

BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration will continue to protect about 2,000 grizzly bears in four Rocky Mountain states despite objections from Republican-led states, U.S. wildlife officials said Wednesday.

The Associated Press obtained details of the decision from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ahead of a planned public announcement.

Federal officials also said they will reclassify the grizzly’s status so that ranchers can shoot bears that kill livestock. Officials will also end protections for the animals in states where they are no longer found, including California, Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon.

The fearsome browns have been protected as an endangered species in the lower 48 states since 1975. Officials during newly elected President Donald Trump’s first term tried to lift these protections but were blocked in court.