Wyoming officials must understand the economic benefits that result from the millions of people who come from all over the world to the Yellowstone region for the chance to see a grizzly bear, right? Well, partially. Wyoming’s proposal does create a small buffer zone around the east side of Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Parkway that connects Grand Teton and Yellowstone. That’s because the state knows a national outcry would result from a famous bear like 399 being killed in a trophy hunt. The state’s own figures show that revenue from wildlife watching trips was $365 million in 2016, two and a half times the amount spent on big game hunting trips and licenses. But alarmingly, there is no buffer proposed around Yellowstone National Park. This includes areas on mountain slopes in the national forests to the east of Yellowstone where bears congregate to feed on army cutworm moths—a critical protein source for their survival. Other than in the small buffer zone proposed around part of Grand Teton, any grizzly bear that steps over national park boundaries could be shot.

Idaho has just announced that it also plans to initiate a hunt, for its allocated share of the hunting mortality, which is one male bear. What’s problematic is that a hunter is highly unlikely to tell the difference between a male and female grizzly. In fact, many can’t tell the difference between a black bear and a grizzly bear, as demonstrated by the number of “mistaken identity” grizzly bear deaths during hunting season.

But as most of the grizzly bear population is located in Wyoming, what Wyoming does is critical to whether there is continued progress toward full recovery. Frankly, Wyoming’s trophy hunt proposal is designed to reduce the population of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone region over time and to severely limit their distribution outside of a core area around the national parks.

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead must hear the national opposition to this proposal. Killing these majestic grizzly bears, in arguably the most iconic area in the lower 48 states, just for a trophy on the wall is not acceptable. Recently, trophy hunting of grizzly bears was outlawed in British Columbia where approximately 15,000 grizzly bears roam.