Ruling that blocked grizzly bear hunt plans appealed by US
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. government attorneys filed notice Friday that they are appealing a court ruling that restored protections for grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies and blocked plans to hold the first public hunts for the animals in decades.
The legal move challenges a September ruling from U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Montana. He reversed a 2017 decision that had lifted threatened species protections for more than 700 bears in and around Yellowstone National Park.
The ruling came as Wyoming and Idaho were on the cusp of hosting their first public hunts for grizzly bears in the Lower 48 U.S. states since 1991.
Wildlife advocates and the Crow Indian Tribe had asked Christensen to intervene.