Position on H.R. 281 & H.R. 1809

H.R. 281 – Grizzly Bear State Management Act of 2025: NPCA opposes this legislation, which removes Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bears, including the grizzlies of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, from protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Before being listed under the ESA in 1975, grizzly bears were driven to the brink of extinction by eradication programs in the mid-nineteenth century. Thanks to the resources and protections of the ESA; the hard work of state, Tribal and federal scientists; and the willingness of communities to adopt practices to live with bears, the GYE grizzly population is on its way toward recovery. However, it simply hasn’t met the high bar of recovery yet. In 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released an extensive, peer-reviewed Species Status Assessment (SSA) and a “not warranted for delisting” finding for a 12-month petition for the GYE population. The SSA found that threats to the species remain and need to be addressed. At the same time, the USFWS also released a proposed rule to modify grizzly bear recovery and provide additional tools to allow landowners and communities to respond to the conflicts between bears and community members. The proposed rule would allow individuals to shoot a grizzly bear if it is hurting livestock, haze bears away from their property, and allow USFWS to issue lethal take permits to landowners if conflicts occur. The USFWS needs to finalize this proposed rule to enable communities to have more tools to live with grizzlies, while also enabling the grizzly bear population to reach the point of recovery.

The legislation would also circumvent the crucial role of the judicial system in the implementation of one of the nation’s bedrock conservation laws. In 2017, USFWS removed ESA protections from the GYE grizzly bear population. The United States District Court for the District of Montana found that this final rule, which would be finalized by H.R. 281, lacked critical analysis and failed to address several threats to the population’s long-term survival. These findings were upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The courts outlined what USFWS must address before this population can be considered for removal from ESA protections. None of those requirements are unsurmountable, and USFWS should be given time to continue the process of addressing the courts’ concerns. The goal of the ESA is to recover a species and ensure that, once delisted, recovery can be maintained. This population of bears is on the path to recovery, but removing federal protections without an adequate plan in place to ensure the long-term health of this population is short sighted and will prevent the recovery of this American West icon.

H.R. 1809 – Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization Act: NPCA supports this legislation, which would reauthorize the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) for an additional 5-years through fiscal year 2030. The GLSC serves as a critical center for the advancement of scientific research and support for the restoration, enhancement, management, and protection of Great Lakes fish and wildlife.

With 7 national park sites along the shorelines of the Great Lakes, the National Park Service collaborates and partners with the GLSC to restore the Great Lakes ecosystem, enhance a recreational fishery worth over $5.1 billion a year for the region, and to protect the unique waterways and landscapes of places like Cuyahoga Valley, a tributary of Lake Erie, and Isle Royale in the northern reaches of Lake Superior. The reauthorization of the GLSC will enhance the long-term protection of these unique places, continuing critical deep-water ecosystem science, shedding light on biological and food web components, improving our understanding of fish movement and behavior, and contributing to invasive species knowledge and management.