Court will allow lethal grizzly removal, requires environmental impact statement
A federal judge on Nov. 7 told a government agency that while it can continue its practice of capturing and occasionally killing endangered grizzly bears in Montana, the agency must conduct a thorough analysis of how the program will impact the state’s bear population after finding it violated the National Environmental Policy Act.
In a legal dispute that began in May 2021 when a coalition of environmental and wildlife groups sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services over a decision reauthorizing a predator damage and conflict management program in Montana, U.S. federal judge Dana Christensen last week issued a 50-page order that favored the plaintiffs’ claims.
The court order states that an environmental assessment prepared by Wildlife Services failed to include critical information about grizzly population connectivity and consider the impact of the program on the state’s grizzly bear population, a violation of NEPA.
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