Service to Initiate Grizzly Bear Status Review in the Northern Continental Divide & Greater Yellowstone

to the collaborative actions of Tribes, federal agencies, state and local governments, conservation organizations and private citizens.

Map of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming showing estimated distributions of grizzly bear populations and their recovery zones.

tections would then be initiated through a separate rulemaking process, with additional public notice and comment.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed the initial review of three petitions filed to remove the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the lower 48 States from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife under the Endangered Species Act in certain ecosystems.

The Service finds two of these petitions present substantial information indicating the grizzly bear in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) may qualify as their own distinct population segment and may warrant removal from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife. The Service will now initiate a comprehensive status review of the grizzly bear in the NCDE and GYE based on the best available scientific and commercial data available to inform a 12-month finding. If those findings result in proposing one or more DPSs for delisting, the Service will consider those in the context of the ongoing recovery for the rest of the population in the larger listed entity.

The Service finds the third petition to remove ESA protections for the grizzly bear in the lower 48 states does not present substantial, credible information to warrant further action.

Grizzly bear recovery and conservation are complex issues, requiring coordination among federal agencies, states, Tribes, and other stakeholders. The Service appreciates the states historical commitments and partnerships to recover bears, particularly through conflict prevention efforts that have been effective in reducing human-caused mortality. However, the impact of recently enacted state laws and regulations affecting these two grizzly bear populations is of concern and needs to be evaluated. We will fully evaluate these and all other potential threats, and associated state regulatory mechanisms, in detail when we conduct the status assessments and make the 12-month findings.

Today’s announcement comes as the ESA turns 50 years old in 2023. Throughout the year, the Department of the Interior will celebrate the importance of the ESA in preventing the extinction of imperiled species, promoting the recovery of wildlife, and conserving the habitats upon which they depend. The ESA has been highly effective and credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction. Thus far, more than 100 species of plants and animals have been delisted based on recovery or reclassified from endangered to threatened based on improved conservation status, and hundreds more species are stable or improving thanks

Substantial 90-day findings represent a relatively low bar, requiring only that the petitioner provide information that the petitioned action may be warranted. The next steps include an in-depth status review and analyses using the best available science and information to arrive at a 12-month finding on whether the removal of ESA protections for grizzly bears in the NCDE and GYE are warranted. If so, removing ESA pro-

The public can play an essential role by submitting relevant information, particularly new scientific and commercial data published since the 2021 5-year status review. This information will inform the indepth status review and can be submitted through regulations. gov: Docket Number: FWS-R6ES-2022-0150, beginning February 6, 2023, upon publication in the Federal Register and will include details on how to submit comments.

The 90-day finding and petition review forms associated with this announcement are now available for public inspection.

Interior Secretary’s Daughter High Ranking Member of Radical Group Responsible for Violent Protest at their Mom’s Department in D.C. that was ‘Reminiscent of January 6’

BY PAUL FARRELL FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s daughter is a high-ranking member of a radical environmentalist group that was responsible for a protest at the department in October 2021 that was referred to as being ‘reminiscent of January 6.’

Somah Haaland, 28, who is non-binary, identifies as ‘queer’ and uses they/them pronouns, is listed as the media organizer of the Pueblo Action Alliance on the group’s website.

In 2021, Haaland joined their group in protesting the Biden administration’s environmental policies in Washington DC. The PAA has long called for the government to protect indigenous land against oil and gas drilling.

Their mother was named as the Secretary of the Interior in December 2020 and in doing so became the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary.

At the time of the protest, Haaland posted photos showing the protests on their Instagram page. They wrote in the caption: ‘What an honor it was to march with my Pueblo kin last week for #Peoplevsfossilfuels week of action. Indigenous people are so powerful, especially when we join together and share our stories.’

Shortly after the protest, Haaland posted a statement on Instagram in which they sought to distance themselves from their mother.

They said in part: ‘I have my own life and I am politically involved my own way that is separate from my mother. I have no influence or control over anything that she does.’

Haaland added: ‘I have Major Depressive Disorder and am neuro divergent in other ways.’

Prior to the protest, Haaland’s group said in a statement: ‘We will no longer allow the U.S. government to separate us from our relationship to the sacred knowledge of Mother Earth and all who depend on her [...] We will not back down until our natural balance is restored.’

Secretary Haaland said in a Facebook post on her daughter’s 25th birthday: ‘I’m happy to have raised a compassionate human being, who was born to learn and love.’

In addition to their Native American heritage, Haaland is of Norwegian descent. They are a 2017 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts.