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

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied petitions to delist grizzly bears Wednesday, saying the species is still threatened in the Northern Rockies.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that it is proposing a new rule that would protect grizzly bears as a single population in Idaho, Washington, Montana and Wyoming, while offering land owners and land management agencies some flexibility to deal with problem animals.

The Fish and Wildlife Service listed the grizzly bear population in all of the lower 48 states as threatened in 1975.

State delisting petitions denied. Agency also proposes revising regulations to increase management flexibility.

Federal officials also said they will reclassify the grizzly’s status so that ranchers would be able to shoot bears that are killing livestock.

Montana’s elected officials, including Gov. Greg Gianforte, have pushed for management of the species by the state rather than federal government.