Court Overturns Federal Authorization to Kill 72 Grizzlies Near Yellowstone
PINEDALE, Wyoming - The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Services authorization of the killing of up to 72 grizzly bears on public land just outside of Yellowstone National Park violated federal law.
Meant to accommodate private grazing operations in grizzly habitat, the 2019 grazing authorization would have allowed an unlimited percentage of females to be killed in response to livestock conflict, despite the significance of breeding bears to the species recovery. But now the court has remanded the decision to the agencies to fix the legal deficiencies.
Were hopeful that in reconsidering their flawed analysis, the agencies will spare dozens of female grizzly bears previously sentenced to death by the Trump administration, said Andrea Zaccardi, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversitys carnivore conservation program. This ruling confirms that federal officials cant sidestep the law to allow grizzly bears to be killed on public lands to appease the livestock industry.
The court found that among other issues, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services failure to consider limiting the number of female grizzly bears that could be killed was arbitrary and capricious because killing too many females could jeopardize the grizzly bear population in the project area. In so holding the court acknowledged the importance of protecting female grizzly bears for grizzly bear recovery.
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/court-overturns-federal-authorization-to-kill-72-grizzlies-near-yellowstone
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2naSalit
(90,507 posts)I'm surprised but also glad. I've been waiting to see what they would decide on this. I'm glad there won't be griz hunters in my back yard.
Nictuku
(3,790 posts)But that might not make the docket before hunting season is over. With any luck, that is.
yonder
(9,861 posts)Too often private grazing interests pay their Animal Use Month (AUM) lease fees and think they have carte blanche exclusive control to the use of those leased public lands.
Is the forage on that rangeland valuable? Probably. Can you expect depredation of your livestock? Probably, and that is the risk you are going to have to take for the use of that land.