Yellowstone grizzlies have made an impressive recovery from fewer than 150 bears when listed as threatened in 1975—including as few as 30 adult females—to around 700 today. It’s a testament to the value of the Endangered Species Act and the ability of Homo sapiens to coexist with large carnivores. “This achievement stands as one of America’s great conservation successes; the culmination of decades of hard work and dedication on the part of state, tribal, federal, and private partners,” Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said in a statement announcing the decision to remove the protections that made the achievement possible. In typical fashion he missed the irony of praising the achievement and handing out the death sentence for these bear population in the same breath.