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HCR062....................................................by WAYS AND MEANS
YELLOWSTONE GRIZZLY BEAR - MANAGEMENT - Stating findings of the Legislature
and approving the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Management Plan.
03/12 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/13 Rpt prt - to 2nd rdg
Rls susp - ADOPTED - voice vote - to Senate
03/13 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Env
03/14 Rpt out - to 10th Ord
03/15 10th ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
Title apvd - to House
03/15 To enrol
Rpt enrol - Sp signed - Pres signed
03/18 To Secretary of State
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2002
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 62
BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
2 STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND APPROVING THE YELLOWSTONE GRIZZLY BEAR
3 MANAGEMENT PLAN.
4 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
5 WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 36-2402, Idaho Code, the director of the
6 Department of Fish and Game, in cooperation and consultation with the Gover-
7 nor's Office of Species Conservation, was authorized to establish the
8 Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Delisting Advisory Team; and
9 WHEREAS, the primary goal of the Advisory Team was to develop recommenda-
10 tions for management of grizzly bears in Eastern Idaho that consider all the
11 varied landscapes, people, current land uses, culture, grizzly bear ecology,
12 and legal requirements once the grizzly bear population was removed from pro-
13 tection under the Endangered Species Act; and
14 WHEREAS, the Advisory Team was formed and met during the year 2001, and
15 developed and drafted a plan for the management and conservation of
16 Yellowstone grizzly bear in the state; and
17 WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 36-2405, Idaho Code, the plan was submitted
18 to the director of the Department of Fish and Game for review and recommenda-
19 tion to the Fish and Game Commission; and
20 WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 36-2405, Idaho Code, the Fish and Game Com-
21 mission was directed to forward the state management plan to the Governor's
22 Office of Species Conservation and the Legislature, conditioned upon its
23 approval of the plan and its finding that the management plan provides for the
24 management and conservation of the species when it is delisted and that rea-
25 sonable safeguards are included in the plan to protect the health, safety,
26 private property and economic well-being of the citizens of the state of
27 Idaho; and
28 WHEREAS, the Fish and Game Commission, having forwarded the plan to the
29 Legislature, the Legislature is authorized, pursuant to Section 36-2405, Idaho
30 Code, to approve, amend or reject the management plan by concurrent resolu-
31 tion; and
32 WHEREAS, modifications to the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Management Plan
33 have been made pursuant to approved motion by the House Resources and Conser-
34 vation Committee; and
35 WHEREAS, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game ("department") shall pre-
36 pare and submit an annual report to the Senate Resources and Environment Com-
37 mittee and the House Resources and Conservation Committee on the implementa-
38 tion and progress of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Management Plan; and
39 WHEREAS, such report shall document Yellowstone grizzly bear effects upon
40 wildlife, depredation on domestic livestock, conflicts with humans and any
41 grizzly bear related human fatalities, coordination with the Conservation
42 Strategy, and any other subject matter as deemed appropriate and requested in
43 writing by the chairman of the Senate Resources and Environment Committee or
44 the chairman of the House Resources and Conservation Committee. Thereafter,
2
1 the Senate Resources and Environment Committee and the House Resources and
2 Conservation Committee shall hold a special public hearing, during each regu-
3 larly scheduled legislative session, wherein the department presents said
4 report and the public has the opportunity to comment; and
5 WHEREAS, because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will closely monitor
6 the Yellowstone grizzly bear population for a minimum of five years following
7 the delisting of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population, the department shall
8 coordinate management strategies and any related rulemaking with the Gover-
9 nor's Office of Species Conservation. Any written comment prepared or submit-
10 ted by the department concerning the Yellowstone grizzly bear including, but
11 not limited to, comment on proposed or ongoing land management, use or devel-
12 opment, shall be coordinated with the Governor's Office of Species Conserva-
13 tion; and
14 WHEREAS, it is the expectation of the Legislature that the Conservation
15 Strategy for the Yellowstone grizzly bear be updated regularly, as required in
16 the Conservation Strategy, to reflect recovery success of the grizzly bear
17 within and around the Primary Conservation Area. Forest Plans, in the case of
18 the United States Forest Service, and Resource Management Plans, in the case
19 of the Bureau of Land Management, must be appropriately revised to reflect the
20 delisted status of the Yellowstone grizzly bear. Current land use restrictions
21 and any land use restrictions contained in or implemented pursuant to the Con-
22 servation Strategy shall be relaxed as recovery progresses to better accommo-
23 date the public. Because Idaho has developed its own plan for managing grizzly
24 bears upon delisting, and because wildlife management is the domain of the
25 state, the federal government shall coordinate with the state to ensure con-
26 sistency in resource management practices.
27 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-
28 sion of the Fifty-sixth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and
29 the Senate concurring therein, provided the department's compliance with cri-
30 teria set forth above, that the Legislature of the State of Idaho hereby
31 approves the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Management Plan, modified pursuant to
32 approved motion by the House Resources and Conservation Committee, which shall
33 be identified as the final approved Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Management Plan
34 and maintained at the Office of the Director of the Idaho Department of Fish
35 and Game. The Legislature finds that the management plan will provide the man-
36 agement and conservation of the species once it is delisted, and contains suf-
37 ficient safeguards to protect the health, safety, private property and eco-
38 nomic well-being of the citizens of the state of Idaho. The U.S. Fish and
39 Wildlife Service should proceed with the delisting process, removing the
40 Yellowstone Grizzly Bear from protection under the Endangered Species Act, and
41 allowing the state of Idaho to assume responsibility for Yellowstone Grizzly
42 Bear management, effective upon the availability of adequate and continuous
43 federal funding for management and conservation purposes.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 12219
The proposed legislation would amend the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear
Management Plan in order to recognize the Senate germane
committee in the oversight process.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
Contact
Name: Rep. Cameron Wheeler
Phone: (208) 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE HCR 62