Wyoming Wednesday approved its first grizzly bear hunt in 44 years. State wildlife commissioners voted unanimously to do so.
Commissioner Mike Schmid commended the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for it’s work drafting the management plan.
"They're going to manage these animals well, and just like they have everything else in this state, so I just want to say thank you guys for that."
The hunt's rules will allow up to 22 grizzlies to be killed in a wide area east and south of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
The hunt this fall will be the first in the lower 48 states since 1991 when Montana's last hunt occurred. Bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem haven't been hunted since 1974.
Supporters say Wyoming's grizzly population can easily sustain limited hunting. Hunt opponents question that claim.
Idaho has approved a grizzly bear hunt with a quota of one bear this fall. Montana has decided for now that it will not allow grizzly bear hunting.
