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Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears are a high-profile multi-use species currently protected under the Endangered Species Act. As their population has grown over time, counts of grizzly bear-human conflicts and grizzly bear mortalities have increased. A bioeconomic model is constructed in which a representative wildlife agency maximizes social net benefits from grizzly bears by deciding whether to enact direct population control. A linear optimal control specification is used to reflect the realities of negotiated and rigid active management programs. Stock-dependent benefits and damages adjust along the recovery path, which tracks the natural capital value of a live grizzly bear in the wild (i.e., the in situ marginal net benefits) as the population size changes. Benchmark results indicate that the grizzly bear population has exceeded the size at which protections ought to have been removed. The natural capital value may actually be negative for an interval of time, during which it is optimal for society to continue conserving the species by developing a buffer. The results of the analysis are sensitive to key ecological and economic parameters, especially on the benefits side.