Earthjustice: Maggie Caldwell, 415-217-2084, mcaldwell@earthjustice.org
Sierra Club: Bonnie Rice, 406-640-2857, bonnie.rice@sierraclub.org
Center for Biological Diversity: Andrea Santarsiere, 303-854-7748, asantarsiere@biologicaldiversity.org
National Park Conservation Association: Kati Schmidt, 415-847-1768, kschmidt@npca.org
MISSOULA, Mont.— A federal judge today granted a temporary restraining order stopping Wyoming and Idaho’s planned grizzly hunt that was set to start Sept. 1. The order grants the bears a reprieve while the judge decides whether the federal government should reinstate federal protections for the bears.
“As we explained to the judge today, the removal of protections for Yellowstone’s iconic grizzlies was illegal. The bears should not be killed in a hunting season made possible by an illegal government decision,” said Tim Preso, Earthjustice attorney.
In the order, the Judge Dana L. Christensen wrote that the impending hunt would cause irreparable harm to grizzly bears “because once a member of an endangered species has been injured, the task of preserving that species becomes all the more difficult.”
Judge Christensen heard oral argument today on the challenge to the federal government’s 2017 decision to remove federal Endangered Species Act protections from a segment of the lower-48 grizzly population that occupies habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Earthjustice filed the temporary restraining order today on behalf of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and National Park Conservation Association.
Background
In August 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the Yellowstone-region grizzly bear population from the federal endangered and threatened species list, even though the area’s grizzly population has suffered high levels of human-caused deaths in recent years.
This fall, for the first time in more than 40 years, the states of Wyoming and Idaho announced grizzly hunts that would allow for up to 23 bears to be killed outside of Yellowstone National Park.
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe and conservation groups challenged the Fish and Wildlife Service’s disregard of bear deaths following the bears’ recent shift to a more heavily meat-based diet following the loss of other foods.
The tribe and groups also faulted the Service for carving out and delisting the isolated Yellowstone grizzly population instead of focusing on a broader, more durable grizzly recovery in the West. They further challenged the Service’s decision to disallow public input on changes to its management framework for grizzlies, which weakened protections.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.