Foundation News

In March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a proposal to remove grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone region from the Endangered Species List. The proposal comes despite serious concerns in the scientific community about a declining population, changes in food sources due to climate disruption, and the ability of Yellowstone bears to reproduce with bears outside the region. States have made it clear that without endangered species protections, immediate steps will be taken to reduce the number of bears in the area, including through hunting, a move that will reverse grizzly bear recovery.

The Sierra Club Foundation provides funding for the Sierra Club’s Our Wild Greater Yellowstone Campaign, which advocates for grizzly bear protections in the Yellowstone region through education and grassroots mobilization and partnerships with state and federal agencies to reduce conflicts between bears and people. This year, the campaign will focus on building widespread public opposition to the removal of endangered species protections for grizzly bears. We ultimately seek to achieve full recovery of the Greater Yellowstone grizzly population, including natural connectivity to populations in other recovery areas for a thriving, well-distributed metapopulation of bears.