New Grizzly Legislation: The Department of Redundancy Department

I’m still scratching my head over the announcement this morning that Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and Congressman Raul Labrador are introducing legislation to amend the Endangered Species Act to permit actions carried out against grizzly bears in self-defense situations.  I’m bemused, because already the Endangered Species Act provides for such self-defense kills, and such legislation is redundant and completely unnecessary.  Of all the many things that could and should be done to reduce human-bear conflicts, thereby keeping bears and people safe, this bill is not among them. 

The Endangered Species Act already allows self-defense killing of grizzly bears.  In the Yellowstone ecosystem alone, over the last decade more than 60 grizzly bears were killed in self-defense situations. And just last week, a grizzly bear was killed in self-defense by a bow hunter in the Gravelly Mountains west of Yellowstone.  These are unfortunate incidences, but ones that are proper and lawful.  In these cases, the Endangered Species Act has been proven to work exactly as intended.  If the law isn’t broken, why fix it?

If these congressmen were seriously bent on reducing human-bear conflicts, keeping people safe and recovering a threatened species, they would help ensure that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies on the ground have the resources that they need to prevent grizzlies from becoming habituated to human-foods and garbage, which can create dangerous situations for people and bears alike.  They would provide more funds for the Forest Service to bear-proof campgrounds, build food-storage boxes, and erect poles in the backcountry to hang game meat away from the reach of hungry grizzlies.  They would help fund more efforts to educate the recreating public as to how they can hike or ride through grizzly bear country without conflict.  In sum, Congress could increase funding for the many tried and true techniques that have been developed over the years to avoid grizzly-human conflicts. 

What we don’t need is new, redundant legislation.  What we do need are more resources to implement the Endangered Species Act so as to protect both people and bears.