Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Environmentalists sue over Grand Teton grizzly take limit

Two environmental groups have filed a lawsuit saying Grand Teton National Park and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would allow too many grizzly bears to be killed in confrontations with elk hunters before officials would have to reassess their rules for elk hunting in the park. The Sierra Club and Western Watersheds Project filed suit Friday against the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Grand Teton is one of very few U.S. national parks that allow hunting. Each fall, the park hosts a hunt designed to control elk numbers. Elk hunters regularly kill grizzly bears in self-defense in western Wyoming. That's happened only once since Grand Teton was established in its current boundaries in 1950, however. In 2012, two elk hunters killed a grizzly as the 530-pound animal was charging them and their father from 42 yards away in the park. Investigators determined the two acted appropriately under the circumstances...more

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