Big Win for Greater Yellowstone Grizzlies

Great news in the long battle to protect the still-vulnerable Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear population! Last Wednesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Montana District Court’s 2018 opinion that reinstated Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the Yellowstone region’s grizzly bear population, rejecting arguments for removal of protections by federal and state agencies and hunting organizations.The decision spares grizzly bears  from plans for trophy hunts in the states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana outside the boundaries of the national parks. Approximately 700 grizzly bears live in and around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in the three states.

Earthjustice, representing the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and National Parks Conservation Association, successfully argued for restoring protections to Yellowstone grizzly bears, after they were delisted in 2017. Many Tribal Nations consider the grizzly bear a sacred relative, and have long worked to protect the great bear. A coalition of 17 Tribal Nations and individuals were the lead plaintiffs in  the litigation to restore ESA protections for the sacred grizzly bear. 

“The grizzly is foundational to many Indigenous cultures,” said Rain Bear Stands Last, who assisted plaintiffs with the lawsuit and is the executive director of the Global Indigenous Council, a body of Indigenous tribes from around the world. “Had the decision gone against tribes,” he said, ”it would have set a devastating precedent.”

Photo courtesy of © C Thomas Hoff Photography | https://www.yellowstonewild.com

On July 8, the Ninth Circuit sided with Tribes and conservationists that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had not adequately addressed the impacts of delisting the Yellowstone grizzly bear population on the other grizzly bear populations in the lower 48. The three-judge panel also found that the USFWS acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” regarding the long-term threat to the Yellowstone grizzly population due to its isolation; and violated the ESA in basing its arguments for removal of protections on “political pressure by the states rather than having been based on the best scientific and commercial data.” With this victory on the appeal, grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region will remain protected. 

We are thrilled with the court's decision. Given the rapid pace of the extinction and climate crises, now is not the time to remove critical safeguards that will ensure Yellowstone's irreplaceable grizzlies stay on the road to recovery.

“This is a tremendous victory for those who care about Yellowstone and its grizzly bears,” said Tim Preso, Earthjustice attorney. “The court rightfully rejected the misguided proposal to subject Yellowstone grizzlies to trophy hunting for the first time in 40 years. The grizzly is an icon of our remaining wildness at a time when our wilderness is shrinking and our wildlife is under assault.”