Beyond Minnesota: Feds announce plan to give grizzly management authority to states

Bozeman, Mont. — On July 14, the Department of the Interior announced a revised proposal to increase management flexibility for grizzly bears in areas where the species has met or exceeded federal recovery benchmarks.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum was joined by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, Idaho Gov. Brad Little and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Brian Nesvik for the announcement.

The rule announced authorizes state and tribal wildlife agencies to work with the USFWS to launch their own grizzly bear management plans. The proposed rule from the USFWS does not remove the grizzly bear from the Endangered Species list or change geographic boundaries of the management plan. The rule does say the agency is considering a separate determination related to the listing.

The USFWS is opening a 30-day public comment period on the revised proposed 4(d) rule. The revision updates a January 2025 proposal.

To read the proposed rule and to comment until Aug. 17, visit www.fws.gov/grizzlyrulemaking.

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PHILIPPINES

American Biologist and Conservationist Murdered

Manila, Philippines (AP) — A distinguished American marine biologist has been shot dead by three men who entered his house in the central Philippines, police said last week.

Kent Carpenter, 73, was in a house in the coastal town of Sibulan, in Negros Oriental province, on Sunday night, July 12, when the masked men forced their way in. One drew a gun and shot Carpenter in the head, killing him instantly, police said his companion told them. The men took a laptop, an unspecified amount of cash and a backpack before fleeing, national police spokesperson Col. Allen Rae Co told reporters.

Regional police spokesperson Lt. Col. Joem Malong told The Associated Press that Carpenter’s companion sustained unspecified injuries and was being treated. Investigators were trying to determine the motive for the killing and identify the attackers.

Carpenter was a marine biologist who had worked as a lecturer at the Silliman University, in Dumaguete city, Negros Oriental, Malong said.

Carpenter had been a biological sciences professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., since 1996. His research – which focused on the Philippines and the Coral Triangle between the Indian and Pacific oceans – shaped conservation efforts around the world, university officials said. He was on an extended research assignment in the Philippines and planned to retire in September.

Image courtesy of Silliman University