The Biden administration is keeping protections in place for more than 2,000 grizzly bears in western states despite requests to lift the safeguards.

The decision will likely anger the officials of several northern states, which have demanded the right to take over bear management from U.S. Fish

After a months-long delay, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that grizzly bears will retain protections under the Endangered Species Act, despite efforts by several western states to remove them.