The judge restores the protection of grizzly bears as an endangered species: NPR

A federal judge reinstated the Endangered Species Act protections for grizzlies living around Yellowstone National Park.

In his ruling, US District Court Judge Dana Christensen said the federal government did not use the best available science when it removed bears from the list of threatened species.

Monday's decision puts an end to the proposed grizzly bear hunts in Wyoming and Idaho that were pending while Christensen pondered his decision.

"I'm relieved," said Matthew Bishop, an environmental lawyer with WildEarth Guardians.

He helped represent tribes and conservation groups in a lawsuit against grizzlies in 2017. Bishop argued that the US Fish and Wildlife Service could not remove animals from one location without concern grizzlies living elsewhere. in the lower 48 states.

"When you commit to recovering a species in Bottom 48, you should do it," Bishop said.

Christensen agreed. In his decision, he said that grizzlies did not move anywhere in the West as they did before. Instead, they live in isolated pockets and federal regulators can not remove these isolated pockets until grizzly bear populations have started to connect.

"The Service can not abuse its power to write off a species already protected by" balkanization, "wrote Christensen.

Prior to the decision, wildlife protection agencies in Wyoming and Idaho planned to drop up to 23 grizzlies during the first bear hunting season in three decades. It was scheduled to begin September 1st before Christensen granted a temporary restraining order on August 30th.

Many pastoralists near the country's oldest national park rented the hunt.

"Some people encounter grizzlies in their daily lives," said lawyer Cody Wisniewski at a previous hearing.

He represented Wyoming ranchers and farmers in the case and said his customers enjoyed having the states in charge.

"Their goal is simply to have local leadership, to be able to go and see their local representatives, their elected officials, the people who live inside and beside them in their state in order to resolve any dispute. ", did he declare.

According to Montana Public Radio, US Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Jennifer Strickland said the federal government "will work with the state and tribes to ensure that this transition is proceeding in accordance with the court".

The bishop of WildEarth Guardians noted that the federal government could appeal the decision, which could also affect the proposed delisting of grizzly bears living in the northern continental divide ecosystem, near the national park Montana glaciers.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.