Progress! Grizzlies Secure Two Major Legal Wins in Montana

Grizzly bears in Montana have seen some welcome wins in recent weeks, with two separate victories in ongoing legal challenges brought by wildlife conservation organizations to protect these endangered keystone predators.

The first victory came when a federal District court ruled against the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services concerning their practices of capturing and killing what they deem to be “problem” grizzly bears in Montana. The court determined that Wildlife Services violated the National Environmental Policy Act, with the judge highlighting that the agency ignored critical scientific evidence about the environmental consequences of killing grizzly bears and other apex predators in the state.

As part of the ruling, Wildlife Services was ordered to address the shortcomings in their wildlife management plan within two years. Patrick Kelly, Montana Director of the Western Watersheds Project, one of the co-plaintiffs in the case, celebrated the decision as a win for wildlife, stating, “To have an agency forced by this ruling to do that is certainly welcome news, and we’re happy to see it.” However, Kelly also acknowledged the ruling's limitations, as the agency is permitted to continue its current procedures for the time being. He noted, "We're still considering our options in terms of going forward in terms of the continued killing of these bears in the interim."

The other legal win for grizzlies this month saw environmental groups dismiss an ongoing lawsuit after the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission agreed to their settlement terms to implement new wolf and coyote trapping season regulations. The new measures are designed to protect grizzly bears from harm during the trapping season.

Under the revised rules, wolf trapping will now be limited to January 1 through February 15 in regions where grizzly bears are known to live. Additionally, new coyote trapping regulations have been introduced to prevent grizzly bears from being unlawfully “taken” in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

Previously, Montana had been considering a significantly longer trapping season that could have started as early as November 27 and lasted until March 15. Conservation groups argued that such an extended season would have increased the risk of protected grizzly bears being accidentally caught or killed, particularly during the early and late part of the hunting season when they would not be in their dens. The successful settlement of this case reaffirms the legal status of Montana’s grizzly bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act that must be protected.

The settlement of this case is also a win for other non-target species that might have been harmed during an extended trapping season, as well as for Montana’s wolves and coyotes, which will now face a shorter hunting period in grizzly bear habitats.

While these two cases represent positive progress for the well-being of grizzly bears, they still face the looming threat of being delisted from Endangered Species Act protections if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sides with the state of Montana on this critical case.

The agency has stated that a delisting decision will be made by the end of January, giving us only a few months to continue raising awareness on this crucial issue. Please help us protect this vital keystone species by signing and sharing our petition urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to maintain Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears.