NEWS RELEASES
Grizzlies Regain Protection Under The Endangered Species Act
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through National Parks Traveler's website.
The National Parks Traveler reports that U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen enlists Grizzly bears that roam the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem on the Endangered Species List under the Endangered Species Act. He says the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service did not adequately consider the impact of delisting the bears and how it would impact the species as a whole. In his 48-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen said the Service "entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem" by not carefully reviewing how the decision would impact grizzly populations in the lower 48 states.
National Parks Traveler writer Kurt Repanshek relays in his article from the judge's ruling that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "acted arbitrarily and capriciously by refusing to commit that any future approach to estimating grizzly numbers in the ecosystem is 'calibrated' to the approach to justify delisting." By not ensuring consistency in population estimates, wrote Judge Christensen, "the Service illegally negotiated away its obligation to apply the best available science in order to reach an accommodation with the states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana."
For more information on the reasons causing such judgment, visit the National Parks Traveler.
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