HELENA — This week, a U.S. district court judge in Missoula will hear arguments on whether the federal government has done enough environmental analysis on its practice of killing grizzly bears in the state.
The hearing is set for 9 a.m. at the federal courthouse in Missoula.
Three environmental organizations – WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project and Trap Free Montana – filed suit last year. Their complaint centers on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program, which is responsible for managing conflicts between people and wildlife.
Wildlife Services typically responds to grizzly bears in Montana when they attack livestock. Plaintiffs said in a court filing the agency kills some of the bears, relocates others and transfers the remainder to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. They argued leaders haven’t provided enough specific information on things like the sex of the bears killed and where, why and how they’re killed.
The plaintiffs said the predator removal program could be having a significant effect on the connectivity of grizzly populations and the overall impact of human-caused mortality. They said, under federal law, the agency should be required to do a new and “more robust” analysis of environmental impacts.
In a response filed with the court, the federal defendants said the program was not likely to have a significant impact on the grizzly’s recovery, and that they had fully complied with the requirements of federal law. They said some of the data plaintiffs wanted to see was covered in more recent environmental assessments and it wouldn’t make sense to go through the process of creating an entirely new analysis to include it.
The defendants also argued blocking the predator removal program would put more pressure on the state to manage grizzly bear conflicts – and could lead to more attacks on livestock, less public acceptance of grizzlies, and potentially private citizens killing bears themselves to stop predation.
