Comments closed August 17
Stop weakening federal protections for grizzly bears
Fish and Wildlife Service · lower-48 States
- What
- The government is revising rules that determine what actions can harm or kill grizzly bears in the lower 48 states.
- Where
- lower-48 States
- How much
- Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states could lose key legal protections if the revised Section 4(d) rule allows more lethal take or fewer restrictions on killing.
- Decided
- Comments closed August 17, 2026. No decision document is on file yet.Date from Federal Register ↗, read October 29, 2026.
Where these four lines come from
- WhatOur plain-English read of the Federal Register 2026-14450 ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words under Case.
- WhereThe places and states the notice names, as PLAN read them.
- How muchThe first sentence of our What’s at risk read of the notice; the whole read is under Case.
- DecidedAugust 17, 2026, from Federal Register, the notice's DATES field (federalregister.gov API) ↗: “Comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59 pm eastern time on the closing date.”. Read October 29, 2026. The decision document is the one on file in PLAN’s record.
- Read from PLAN’s record November 9, 2026.
Brian R. Nesvik
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A person signed this, not an agency. The window has closed and the signature stands, which is exactly when accountability matters.
Short is better. You are asking Director Nesvik to answer for a decision their office made.
My name is [your name] and I'm calling from [your city and state]. Brian R. Nesvik, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, signed the decision on Stop weakening federal protections for grizzly bears. I'm asking that office to answer for it publicly. Please record that I called and tell me what the office intends to do.
Official channels only, about this decision. No personal phone numbers, no home addresses, no personal social accounts, and nothing abusive. The point is to make the office answer, and an abusive call is the one thing that lets it off the hook.
What the proposal said, and what the decision did
No figure from the proposal has been checked against the decision on this fight yet. What the record does hold is the issues ledger below.
No decision document is on PLAN’s record for this fight yet. When the agency’s decision lands, what it answered goes here.
PLAN's read: high threat
The government is revising rules that determine what actions can harm or kill grizzly bears in the lower 48 states.
What’s at risk
If this goes through
Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.
In the agency’s own words
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or FWS), notify the public that we are making changes to our January 15, 2025, proposed rule to revise the protective regulations for the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the lower-48 States under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act or ESA). We are reopening the comment period because we are proposing substantive changes to the protective regulations in the January 15, 2025, proposed rule. Comments previously submitted will be considered and do not need to be resubmitted now. However, we invite comments on the new information…
The groups on this fight
9 groups are in on this fight
In on this fight means a link on this decision itself: the group's own regulations.gov comment on it, or a case filed over it naming the group. Give straight to them; nothing routes through us.
- Defenders of Wildlife
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 18, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗ - Earthjustice
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 18, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗ - Gallatin Wildlife Association
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 17, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗ - Greater Yellowstone Coalition
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 18, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗ - Idaho Conservation League
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 18, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗ - National Parks Conservation Association
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 18, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗ - National Wildlife Federation
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 18, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗ - WildEarth Guardians
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 17, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗ - Wolves of the Rockies
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on July 20, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗
Every group above is on STAND for Public Lands, with its court record, its filings and who backs it.
Who signs it
Brian R. Nesvik
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Where the notice says so
The ground
The window has closed, so there’s no watch to set on it here.
The photograph on this page: Grizzly bear crossing sage flats, Greater Yellowstone. More Than Just Parks.
In court on this ground
This fight isn’t bound to a land unit in PLAN’s record yet, so there are no court cases to show for its ground.
Who holds the vote
PLAN’s record doesn’t tie a member of Congress to this fight yet. The scorecard grades the votes and bills that decide public lands; nothing joins a vote or a bill to this decision, so there’s no member to name here without guessing.
See how your members vote ↗More fights that need you
Go deeper, free
See how your members of Congress vote on public lands
Every representative, graded on the votes that decide the fate of parks, forests, and refuges.
Open ↗The mapSee the places under active threat
A live map of the parks, monuments, and wild country in the crosshairs right now.
Open ↗A wrong fact, a dead link, a form that wouldn’t take your letter: one tap and it comes to the people who build PLAN, with this fight attached.