Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation News Release-November 15, 2005

CONTACT: Kerin Clark, WyFB Media and Member Relations Director, 307.532.2002 or kclark@wyfb.org or Ken Hamilton, WyFB Executive Vice President, 307.721.7712 or khamilton@wyfb.org

Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation: Grizzly delisting-it's time

LARAMIE
The Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation applauded today's Department of Interior announcement of a draft delisting rule for the grizzly bear population in Wyoming.

"We are hopeful that this will lead to some relief for our agriculture producers," Ken Hamilton, WyFB executive vice president, said. "We feel this is something that has been denied Wyoming producers for way too long. We are hoping there will not be any legal challenges in an effort to draw this out."

The Yellowstone grizzly bear population has been listed as "endangered or threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for over 30 years. When the species was listed, only 220 to 320 bears remained in the ecosystem. Today, the Yellowstone grizzly population is well over 600.

"The length of time the grizzly bears have been listed as well as the increased conflict to humans, wildlife and livestock of Wyoming has been unnecessary," Perry Livingston, WyFB President, said. "The proposal to delist must move forward in a timely manner for all of Wyoming."

"The delisting announcement is a step in the right direction," Jean Harshbarger, WyFB Natural and Environment Resources (NER) Committee Chair, said.

"Delisting the grizzly bear after 30 years would be a huge move forward for everyone; especially the people who live in Northwestern Wyoming," WyFB NER Committee member Dave Vaughan, of Fremont County, said. "The bears need to learn respect for humans and we need to keep their population in check. Both of these can be accomplished through responsible hunting. In addition, the financial burden of bear management can now be offset by license fees. Delisting will make everybody a winner in this situation."

The Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation is the state's largest general agriculture organization. Visit www.wyfb.org

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