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 BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Grizzly bear and gray wolf populations in parts of the Northern Rockies are considered stable enough by the government to survive without Endangered Species Act protection. But the animals could get a trust fund to shield them from hard times.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spends about $6 million a year managing grizzly bears and wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. With grizzlies in and around Yellowstone National Park recently taken off the threatened species list and gray wolves expected to come off the endangered list within the next year, that spending likely will drop as the agency turns its resources to other imperiled species.
Yet run-ins between the carnivores and humans — and scientific research to ensure the animals' populations don't backslide — mean expenses will keep stacking up on the area's 1,300 wolves and more than 500 Yellowstone grizzlies. To cover those costs, state and federal officials are considering creating a trust to dole out financial aid to state wildlife agencies assuming oversight of the animals.
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