The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to hear from people who care about grizzly bears and want to help shape their future.

Wyoming’s 68^th Legislative Session came to a close March 7, 2025, after eight tumultuous weeks. GYC’s Wyoming-based staff, our communications team, and Government Affairs Advisor Richard Garrett were entrenched in the day-to-day, and often minute-by-minute, action as many bills were moving through the legislative process. For the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to remain whole and intact we must actively engage with all stakeholders to craft sound policies that honor Wyoming’s tremendous wildlife, diverse habitats, and remarkable abundance of public lands. Your voice and support are critical for protecting our shared interest in this ecosystem. 

In late January, 125 ranchers, land managers, and conservationists gathered in Cody, Wyoming, for the Wyoming Virtual Fence Symposium. The event was a catalyst for change, bringing folks together to explore the potential of virtual fencing (VF) in revolutionizing livestock management, conservation efforts, and rangeland health.

GYC is has been named a recipient of the Norm Winn Memorial Conservation Grant from the Keta Legacy Fund. This generous grant will help sponsor a project to identify priority areas to install low-tech process-based stream restoration (LTPBR) structures. 

In the Montana Legislature, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition has been working with all of you to protect wolves. Since the start of the legislative session, more than 600 people have spoken up for Montana wolves – THANK YOU! We celebrate as one bad wolf bill dies in the House and continue to monitor two bills that threaten Montana’s wolf population. 

On February 24, 2025, the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, GYC, and conservation partners, represented by Earthjustice, file a motion to intervene on behalf of Yellowstone National Park in their lawsuit with Montana.

In the Montana State Legislature, two bad bills for wolves – HB 176 and HB 222 – threaten to halve Montana's wolf population, the integrity of community-driven wildlife management, and the state’s ability to appropriately manage wolves.  

The Idaho Transportation Department recently secured $20.8 million in federal grant funding to build three wildlife underpasses at Rocky Point, a section of U.S. Highway 30 that has an unprecedented number wildlife-vehicle collisions every year. This funding will create safer conditions for drivers and allow one of Idaho’s largest mule deer herds to complete seasonal migrations. 

On January 8, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s announced the decision to keep grizzly populations protected under the Endangered Species Act and proposed next steps highlights the unique needs of grizzlies and charts a durable path for improved co-management with states so that communities have the best available tools for living alongside bears.

On December 31, 2024, the state of Montana filed a frivolous lawsuit against Yellowstone National Park over its recently adopted bison management plan.

We recap our 2024 favorite conservation moments and wins in Greater Yellowstone.

To be good neighbors and stewards of this ecosystem, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition is working in Montana and Wyoming to create wildlife-friendly fences. In 2024, GYC supported 11 fencing projects that removed or modified more than 16 miles of fence!