Wyoming governor planning grizzly ‘summit’ with other states

Wyoming’s governor says he has spoken with governors of neighboring states about the possibility of holding a grizzly summit.

The Casper Star-Tribune reported Thursday Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon says he met with the governors of Montana and Idaho to discuss convening a summit to address the growing population of grizzly bears in the northern Rockies.

Gordon says Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana and Gov. Brad Little of Idaho are both open to the idea of a forum to discuss strategies for grizzly management.

The newspaper reports that increasing conflicts between bears and humans in recent years have raised questions about the federal government’s grizzly management policies and that states are interested in taking a bigger oversight role.

The newspaper says the Greater Yellowstone grizzly population has grown beyond 700.