Grizzly Bear State Management Act
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Would require the Secretary of the Interior to reissue a 2017 federal rule delisting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear population from the endangered species list within 180 days — and would bar any court from reviewing that reissuance.
The bill bypasses the normal regulatory and scientific review process ordinarily required to delist a species, and would strip federal courts of jurisdiction to hear legal challenges, transferring management authority over the bears to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to reissue, within 180 days of enactment, a 2017 final rule that removed the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population of grizzly bears from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife (82 Fed. Reg. 30502, June 30, 2017). Critically, the reissuance would proceed "without regard to any other provision of law" that would otherwise apply — meaning the ordinary Endangered Species Act procedural requirements, such as scientific peer review and public comment, would not govern the reissuance. Once reissued, management of the grizzly bear population would revert to the states.
The bill also explicitly bars judicial review of the reissuance, including of the bill's own provisions. This would prevent environmental and conservation groups from challenging the delisting in federal court, removing a legal avenue that was successfully used to overturn the original 2017 rule.
Key provisions
- 1Would direct the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the 2017 final rule delisting Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears within 180 days, bypassing all otherwise applicable legal requirements.
- 2Would explicitly bar judicial review of the reissuance of the delisting rule, including review of this bill's own provisions.
Who would be affected
Residents, ranchers, and landowners in and around the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, who would be subject to state rather than federal grizzly bear management. State wildlife agencies in those three states would gain primary management authority. Conservation and wildlife organizations that would otherwise seek judicial review would lose that avenue entirely.
Why it matters
If enacted, the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem would no longer have federal Endangered Species Act protections, allowing states to set their own hunting and management rules. The explicit bar on judicial review is unusually broad — it would block courts from evaluating whether the reissuance is scientifically or legally sound, removing a key check that previously kept the delisting from taking effect.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Reauthorizes Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Population of Grizzly Bears From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (82 Fed. Reg. 30502, June 30, 2017) (Sec. 2(a))
Mandates reissuance of this previously vacated delisting rule, restoring its effect without new rulemaking or judicial challenge.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for Secretary of the Interior to reissue the grizzly bear delisting rule
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 281 would have a negligible net effect on the federal deficit over the 2025–2035 period, with all changes to direct spending and revenues falling below $500,000.
CBO estimates that H.R. 281 would have an insignificant effect on direct spending (mandatory spending not requiring annual appropriations) and revenues over the 2025–2035 period. The bill would eliminate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permitting fees and associated receipts for activities involving grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, reduce potential ESA penalty revenues, and lower Judgment Fund payments for attorneys' fees — but all of these effects are too small to exceed $500,000 in any scoring window. Any administrative costs to reissue the regulation would be subject to appropriated funds and are also estimated to be insignificant. CBO found that the bill imposes both an intergovernmental and a private-sector mandate by eliminating judicial review of the reissued rule, but estimates the costs of both mandates fall well below the UMRA thresholds of $103 million and $206 million (in 2025 dollars), respectively.
How implementation would work
The bill is largely self-executing: it mandates that the Secretary of the Interior reissue the specific 2017 rule within 180 days, with no rulemaking, environmental review, or public comment required. The "without regard to any other provision of law" language eliminates procedural obligations that would normally apply under the Endangered Species Act or the Administrative Procedure Act. No grant programs, agency guidance, or phase-in schedules are created. The judicial review bar is immediate upon enactment.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 281.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reissue the final rule titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Population of Grizzly Bears From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and published on June 30, 2017.
In addition, the bill exempts the rule from judicial review.
Legislative subjects
Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Department of the Interior; Endangered and threatened species; Environmental Protection; Idaho; Judicial review and appeals; Mammals; Montana; Wyoming
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-328