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Still No Grizzly Hunt While Judge Decides Fate Of Yellowstone Bears

After Yellowstone grizzlies were removed from the threatened species list in 2017, the states of Idaho and Wyoming decided to allow hunting the species.
Jason Bechtel
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Flickr Creative Commons
After Yellowstone grizzlies were removed from the threatened species list in 2017, the states of Idaho and Wyoming decided to allow hunting the species.

A federal judge has extended a temporary ban on grizzly bear hunting near Yellowstone National Park while he mulls the animal’s fate.

 

In 2017 the federal government removed Endangered Species Act protections for Yellowstone-area grizzlies. Soon after, Idaho and Wyoming decided to allow people to hunt them. 

But environmental groups and tribes sued over the delisting. A federal judge is taking his time making a decision and just extended the hunting ban for another two weeks. 

Matthew Bishop is an attorney for the plaintiffs. He says this is a good sign.

"The more time the court spends looking at the legal issues and the best available science I think the better chances my clients have to prevail in the case," Bishop says. 

Wyoming wildlife official Rebekah Fitzgerald hopes the species is not re-listed. She says her state has a strong grizzly conservation plan, "... for not only the bear populations as a whole, but that also allows for a conservative hunting season."

Before the hunting ban took effect, Wyoming and Idaho approved around two dozen bears to be killed outside Yellowstone’s boundaries.  

 

Find reporter Amanda Peacher on Twitter  @amandapeacher .

Copyright 2018 Boise State Public Radio

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.

Copyright 2020 Boise State Public Radio News. To see more, visit Boise State Public Radio News.

Amanda Peacher is an Arthur F. Burns fellow reporting and producing in Berlin in 2013. Amanda is from Portland, Oregon, where she works as the public insight journalist for Oregon Public Broadcasting. She produces radio and online stories, data visualizations, multimedia projects, and facilitates community engagement opportunities for OPB's newsroom.
Amanda Peacher
Amanda Peacher works for the Mountain West News Bureau out of Boise State Public Radio. She's an Idaho native who returned home after a decade of living and reporting in Oregon. She's an award-winning reporter with a background in community engagement and investigative journalism.