Wildlife Activists Plan Lawsuits To Protect Yellowstone Grizzlies

Advocates for Yellowstone National Park's grizzly bears filed notice Friday that they're prepared to sue to reverse the bears' recent removal from the endangered species list. Grizzlies have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1975, when only 136 of them lived in the Yellowstone region, The Associated Press reports. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced last week that the park's population of about 700 of the iconic carnivores would no longer receive federal protections. AP says the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Center for Biological Diversity, The Humane Society of the United States and WildEarth Guardians are among the groups that have filed a 60-day notice of intent to block the move by suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That step is required under the Endangered Species Act and is intended to give the agency a chance to address the groups' concerns before they file a lawsuit. WildEarth Guardians said in a statement the delisting decision "prematurely removes vital federal safeguards from one of the nation's most cherished species ... handing over the bears' fate to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho—each of which plans to permit grizzly trophy hunting."...more