Advocacy groups are asking a judge to order the federal government to draft a new assessment of the impact of relocating or killing grizzlies.
Lawyers for Trap Free Montana, WildEarth Guardians, and Western Watersheds Project told a federal district court judge Friday that even one grizzly removal can impact a small, recovering population of bears.
They also say Wildlife Services, the federal group tasked with managing threats to livestock, is not assessing how these removals impact bear movement. The ability of bears to move from one area to another has been identified as a key part of the species recovery.
Lawyers for Wildlife Services, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, say it is only responsible for addressing predator damages. They say that questions of management or conservation are the responsibility of the Department of Interior. That agency manages grizzlies as they remain federally protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Separately, the Interior department is currently considering delisting the bear populations around Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks; that decision is expected at the end of the year.
