The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the State of Wyoming’s appeal of a 2018 decision restoring endangered species protections for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population of grizzly bears. The original decision halted states’ planned trophy hunts in the ecosystem. Wildlife advocates, including the Western Environmental Law Center and WildEarth Guardians were the plaintiffs in the original lawsuit. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population of grizzly bears in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana totals about 728 animals, up from its historic low of 136 when endangered species protections were enacted in 1975. In the original case, opponents of federal protections for grizzly bears argued that protections were no longer necessary and that a sport hunting season to effectively manage down the population was justified even though the population has yet to achieve connectivity to neighboring populations near Glacier National Park and elsewhere. The recovery of other grizzly bear populations, the plaintiffs argued, depends heavily on inter-population connectivity and genetic exchange. This case was one of the first COVID-19 “virtual court hearing” scenarios in the US.
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