Tag Archives: grizzly bears

Whitebark pines -- a crucial cog in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem -- may be ailing and in danger, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not extend protections to the species, saying resources are best deployed elsewhere.

Saying that hazing bison back into Yellowstone National Park via helicopter is better than the alternative -- having the state of Montana kill them -- a federal judge denied a request to halt the practice, at least on a temporary basis.

Wyoming officials aren't shy about wanting to clear more grizzly bears out of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, estimating there are over 1,000 grizzlies in the area (despite an official estimate of 600) and clamoring for the ability to kill more.

The snow may still be deep in most of Yellowstone National Park, but there's one sure sign in spring: On Tuesday, park employees observed grizzly-bear tracks on Mary Mountain, near the center of the lower loop of the park’s Grand Loop Road.

An appeals court will hear arguments next week that grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem do not meet criteria for protected status under the Endangered Species Act, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service attempts to reverse a 2009 court decision.

Federal officials are making a surprising argument in opposing the addition of Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears from the Endangered Species List: They say putting the grizzlies back on the list gives them less protection under the law.