Trump boots Yellowstone grizzlies off Endangered Species List

Grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park are losing the federal protections that have kept the population from being wiped out for 42 years. Now, any bears that leave Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Park will be subject to state management, which could include trophy hunting seasons and higher rates of lethal removal in response to livestock conflicts. Through its time on the Endangered Species List, the Yellowstone grizzly population bounced back from 150 members to more than 700. Although Interior Secretary Zinke declared the delisting a conservation success story, many see the move as premature and a gift to big-game hunters (like, ahem, Donald Trump, Jr.). Conservationists warn that removing protections will reverse any progress made, and could send the bears back to the brink of extinction. Native American tribes in the region also denounced the delisting of a species they consider to be sacred.