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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An environmental group wants federal wildlife managers to revise a decades-old recovery plan for grizzly bears to ensure the animal's return to more areas of the West.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed its petition Wednesday with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It identifies 110,000 square miles in a handful of western states as suitable habitat for the bears.
The areas include a forested region straddling the Arizona-New Mexico border, the Grand Canyon, the Sierra Nevada in California, and parts of Utah and Colorado.
The recovery plan for grizzlies dates back to 1993. The Center for Biological Diversity says it needs to consider more recent research that questions the long-term viability of the current grizzly population.
The Fish and Wildlife Service says it has yet to receive and review the petition.
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