BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana wildlife commissioners adopted a grizzly bear conservation plan Monday that would maintain the largest population of the bruins in the Lower 48 at roughly current numbers even if the species loses its federal protections.
The plan sets a target of at least 800 grizzlies across a 16,000-square-mile expanse of the state just south of the U.S.-Canada border. But officials again pledged to maintain the population at its current level of roughly 1,000 bears to provide a protective buffer.
The area includes Glacier National Park and the vast Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Monday’s decision by Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission came as state officials have been trying to show they have enough regulations in place to prevent bears from sliding toward extinction if they lose their threatened species status.
Grizzlies in the Lower 48 are federally protected as a threatened species, but would revert to state control if those protections are lifted. Efforts by federal officials to do so stalled in September.
