MISSOULA — Two conservation groups are notifying the Trump Administration they'll be suing over plans to allow some grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to be removed, in order to protect grazing cattle.
The pending suit is the latest dispute over managing the growing population of grizzlies in the Yellowstone region, and the wider range the bears are taking. That's putting them in situations where there's an increasing conflict with humans.
This time around, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity are upset with the federal government's plans to allow up to 72-grizzlies to be destroyed over the next ten years to protect grazing cattle south of Yellowstone. The point of conflict is in the Bridger-Teton National Forest on the headwaters of the Green River.
Attorneys argue attention should be focused on requiring the livestock industry to do more to prevent conflicts with the grizzlies. Instead they accuse the Administration of allowing cattle to "graze for cheap" on public lands, saying "treasured bears deserve better".
The agencies have 60 days to respond to the notice, after which a lawsuit could be filed. Many of these cases have been heard at US District Court in Missoula.
