The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday proposed that grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem be removed from the federal lists of endangered and threatened wildlife.
The U.S Forest Service is working to update its grizzly bear management policy in the Helena, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark, and Lolo National Forests in an attempt to ensure grizzly bears are protected wherever they may travel in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (or NCDE).
It has been a lot warmer then normal, and that may be the reason bears will be coming out of hibernation early this year. The first one for Montana has already appeared out of hibernation earlier then expected.
It's unclear if less-restrictive hunting and trapping regulations are the cause, but 2013 is set to have one of the lowest rates of wolf predation in the past seven years.