Federal agency turns over bison hazing documents after conservation group sues

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has turned over its analysis on the effects of hazing bison back into Yellowstone National Parks on threatened grizzly bears after a conservation group sued for the information. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy dismissed the Alliance for the Wild Rockies' lawsuit on Monday and awarded the alliance $3,531 in attorney fees and costs. Attorney Rebecca Smith of the Public Interest Defense Center filed a complaint on behalf of the conservation group in May asking Molloy to rule that the federal agency acted illegally by not responding and by failing to produce the requested documents. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year rejected the alliance's request to block the annual spring hazing of bison from Montana into the park to make way for cattle to graze. The alliance says helicopters used to haze the bison cause grizzlies, a federally protected species, to panic and flee from their habitat. In April, the alliance requested the file for the Fish and Wildlife Service's analysis on the effects of the hazing on grizzly bears in the area. The group asked for the final analysis and backing documents, along with all correspondence and meeting minutes regarding the analysis...more