A US court has ruled that grizzly bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem will retain federal protection, preventing sport hunting. The decision, hailed as a victory by conservationists and indigenous tribes, overturns a bid by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to remove Endangered Species Act safeguards.
The ruling blocks plans by Wyoming, Montana and Idaho to issue a limited number of hunting licences, although hunting would have remained banned inside Yellowstone National Park. Conservation director Sarah McMillan of WildEarth Guardians called it 'a triumph of science over politics'.
The Greater Yellowstone grizzly population has grown from around 140 in the 1970s to over 700 today, expanding into areas not seen for a century. However, conservationists argue that true recovery requires linking this population to bears in the northern continental divide ecosystem near the Canadian border.
States and sportsmen's groups contend that hunting is justified. Tex Janecek of Safari Club International said bears are ranging beyond the region, causing conflicts with livestock and posing risks to people. But EarthJustice lawyer Tim Preso noted that federal and state agencies have managed grizzlies effectively for over 40 years without hunting.
There are currently about 2,000 grizzlies in the lower 48 states, a fraction of the historical 50,000. The bears exist in five isolated populations. This year, half a dozen people have been injured by grizzlies in the greater Yellowstone area, none fatally, typically when surprising a bear.
