Jackson, WY-- The Wyoming Game and Fish Department announced today a proposal to allow two dozen grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region to be killed through a state trophy hunt. The announcement comes despite strong public and tribal opposition to trophy hunting of the iconic bear and litigation challenging the removal of Endangered Species Act protections last summer.

In response, Bonnie Rice of the Sierra Club’s Greater Yellowstone campaign, released the following statement:

"We condemn the state of Wyoming’s proposal to allow dozens of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region to be killed just for a trophy on a wall. Grizzly bears just lost federal protection last summer, and Wyoming is already rushing into a trophy hunt.

“Wyoming should focus on continued recovery of grizzly bears, preventing conflicts and promoting coexistence and safety for bears and people. This misguided proposal will set back forty years of grizzly recovery efforts.

“Grizzly bears are one of the slowest animals to reproduce; it takes a female grizzly ten years to replace herself in the population. It’s a pipe dream to believe that hunters are going to be able to distinguish between male and female grizzly bears. We will undoubtedly lose more female grizzlies in a hunt-- even more than authorized under this proposal.”