Description: Challenge to designation of a Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear distinct population segment (DPS) and a related determination that the DPS was recovered and did not qualify as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
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Crow Indian Tribe v. United States
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 07/08/2020 Opinion Download Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and remanded in part the district court order vacating and remanding the delisting rule. Ninth Circuit Largely Agreed with District Court’s Assessment of Problems with Yellowstone Grizzly Delisting Rule. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals largely affirmed a district court order that remanded to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) a rule delisting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem distinct population segment of grizzly bears under the Endangered Species Act. The Ninth Circuit agreed with the district court that the FWS’s commitment to ensuring the long-term genetic diversity of the Yellowstone grizzly was not adequate and that the FWS must commit to “recalibration” in the event of changes to the method of estimating the Yellowstone grizzly population. The lawsuits challenging the delisting rule had alleged threats to the Yellowstone grizzly bears due to climate change impacts on food sources and habitat. 10/04/2019 Response Download Response and reply brief filed for the federal appellants. 06/21/2019 Brief Download Opening brief filed by intervenors-defendants-appellants Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association of America. 06/21/2019 Brief Download Opening brief filed by intervenor-defendant-appellants Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation et al. 06/07/2019 Brief Download Opening brief filed by State of Wyoming. 06/06/2019 Brief Download Opening brief filed by appellants State of Montana and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. 05/24/2019 Brief Download Opening brief filed for the federal appellants. -
Crow Indian Tribe v. United States
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 09/24/2018 Order Download Delisting rule vacated and remanded. Montana Federal Court Vacated Delisting of Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bears. The federal district court for the District of Montana vacated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) final rule delisting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population of grizzly bears and restored Endangered Species Act status to the Greater Yellowstone grizzlies. The court agreed with the plaintiffs that the FWS “entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem” because it did not analyze how delisting the Greater Yellowstone grizzlies would affect the remaining population in the lower 48 states. The court also found that the FWS threat analysis was arbitrary and capricious both because it “illegally negotiated away its obligation to apply the best available science” by dropping a “key commitment” to calibrate any population estimator used in the future to the estimator used to justify the delisting and also because the FWS illogically relied on studies to support its determination that the Greater Yellowstone grizzlies could remain independent and genetically self-sufficient when the studies concluded that introduction of new genetic materials was necessary to ensure the grizzlies’ long-term health. The court’s decision cited one of the studies as recommending measures to ensure cross-breeding between ecosystems “particularly given the unpredictability of future climate and habitat changes.” 09/13/2018 Order Download TRO extend for additional 14 days. 08/30/2018 Motion Download Joint motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed by organizational plaintiffs. 08/30/2018 Order Download Motions for temporary restraining order granted. Montana Federal Court Stopped Grizzly Bear Hunt. On August 30, 2018, the federal district court for the District of Montana granted a motion for a temporary restraining order halting the hunting of grizzly bears. Plaintiffs challenging the delisting of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem distinct population segment of grizzly bears under the Endangered Species Act filed the motion after the court heard arguments on the merits of the case earlier in the day. The hunting season was scheduled to begin on September 1. The plaintiffs have asserted a number of problems with the FWS’s decision-making, including a failure to adequately consider the impacts of climate change on the grizzly bears. 08/22/2018 Reply Download Reply brief filed by Montana in support of motion for summary judgment. 08/22/2018 Reply Download Reply to opposition to cross motion for summary judgment filed by defendant-intervenors Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association of America. 08/22/2018 Reply Download Reply filed in support of cross-motion for summary judgment by Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation et al. 08/22/2018 Reply Download Reply filed by federal defendants in support of cross motion for summary judgment. 08/22/2018 Reply Download Reply memorandum filed by defendant-intervenor Idaho in support of cross-motion for summary judgment. 08/22/2018 Reply Download Reply filed by defendant-intervenor Wyoming in support of cross-motion for summary judgment. 08/08/2018 Response Download Plaintiffs filed response in opposition to defendants' motions for summary judgment and reply in support of plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment. 07/25/2018 Motion for Summary Judgment Download Brief filed by Montana in support of cross motion for summary judgment and opposition to plaintiffs' motions for summary judgment. 06/13/2018 Memorandum Download Memorandum filed by WildEarth Guardians in support of motion for summary judgment. 06/13/2018 Motion for Summary Judgment Download Memorandum filed by plaintiffs Sierra Club et al. in support of motion for summary judgment. 06/08/2018 Motion for Summary Judgment Download Memorandum of law filed in support of plaintiff Robert H. Aland's motion for summary judgment. 01/08/2018 Memorandum Download Motion for partial summary judgment filed by Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, National Parks Conservation Association, and Northern Cheyenne Tribe. 12/05/2017 Order Download Order issued regarding consolidation. -
Humane Society of the United States v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/29/2017 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Lawsuits Challenged Delisting of Yellowstone Grizzly Bears, Citing Climate Change Threats to Food Sources. Three lawsuits were filed in the federal district court for the District of Montana challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) decision to designate a Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear distinct population segment (DPS) and FWS’s related determination that the DPS was recovered and did not qualify as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The Humane Society of the United States and the Fund for Animals alleged in their complaint that the FWS had ignored best available science showing that climate change was and would continue to threaten the survival of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone area, including by posing threats to grizzly bears’ food sources and forcing grizzly bears to migrate outside their primary conservation area and to face “cascading threats.” -
WildEarth Guardians v. Zinke
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/30/2017 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Lawsuits Challenged Delisting of Yellowstone Grizzly Bears, Citing Climate Change Threats to Food Sources. Three lawsuits were filed in the federal district court for the District of Montana challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS's) decision to designate a Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear distinct population segment (DPS) and FWS’s related determination that the DPS was recovered and did not qualify as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In its lawsuit, WildEarth Guardians contended that the FWS’s assessment of threats to the DPS was inadequate due to, among other reasons, its failure to account for climate change impacts on the grizzly bear’s habitat and food sources. -
Northern Cheyenne Tribe v. Zinke
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 10/11/2017 Motion to Intervene Download Motion to intervene filed by Wyoming. Wyoming Asked to Intervene to Defend Delisting of Yellowstone Grizzlies. Wyoming filed a motion in Montana federal court to intervene in support of the defendants in the lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS’s) decision to remove the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear from the list of threatened and endangered species. The plaintiffs’ claims include that FWS failed to address climate change impacts on the grizzly bears’ food sources. Wyoming argued that it was entitled to intervene as of right because it had a significant protectable interest that could be impaired if the plaintiffs prevailed. Wyoming argued that the vast majority of the grizzly bear distinct population segment at issue was located within its boundaries and that it had long participated in the management of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem alongside the federal government, Montana, and Idaho. Wyoming asserted that it had a significant interest in exercising sovereign authority over wildlife in its borders and that its interests were different from those of the federal defendants. In the alternative, Wyoming argued that the court should grant permissive intervention. 08/30/2017 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Lawsuits Challenged Delisting of Yellowstone Grizzly Bears, Citing Climate Change Threats to Food Sources. Three lawsuits were filed in the federal district court for the District of Montana challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS's) decision to designate a Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear distinct population segment (DPS) and FWS’s related determination that the DPS was recovered and did not qualify as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The complaint filed by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and National Parks Conservation Association also alleged that the FWS failed to address threats to Yellowstone grizzly bears, including their increasing reliance on a meat-based diet due in part to climate change impacts on food sources.