On Friday, a federal district court in Missoula, Montana, ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to properly analyze the environmental impacts before killing or removing grizzly bears in Montana.
The ruling comes after a lawsuit was filed in January 2023 by conservation groups WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, and Trap Free Montana, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center. The court’s decision is significant, as the killing and removal of grizzly bears are the leading causes of mortality for the species, which is still listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
“We’re really pleased with the court’s decision,” said Matthew Bishop, the Western Environmental Law Center attorney representing the conservation groups. “It’s imperative that federal agencies in the business of removing and killing grizzly bears throughout Montana take a hard look at the consequences of those actions on grizzly conservation, including connectivity between recovery areas. Indeed, from a conservation perspective, bears that move out of Greater Yellowstone or the Northern Continental Divide are among the most important for the long-term recovery and viability of the species.”
The ruling underscores the need for greater oversight of how grizzly bear killings by federal agencies affect their recovery. Judge Christensen’s order stated that Wildlife Services had “disregarded a substantial body of scientific evidence and unconvincingly dismissed critical concerns about the effects and effectiveness of lethally removing grizzly bears and other predators.” As a result, the environmental assessment used to justify the grizzly bear removal program was deemed “insufficient.”
Lizzy Pennock, carnivore coexistence attorney with WildEarth Guardians, also praised the ruling: “Grizzly bears need all the help they can get right now, not more ‘tools in the toolbox’ for killing them. This decision recognizes that USDA Wildlife Services failed to adequately consider the impacts on grizzly bear recovery from their ‘predator removal program.’”
The court’s decision means that Wildlife Services must prepare a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by November 1, 2026, to thoroughly analyze how its actions affect the long-term viability of the grizzly bear population and their ability to fully recover. However, the order allows Wildlife Services to continue operating the program in the meantime.
“As grizzlies disperse into and reoccupy parts of their former range, it is critical for recovery of the species that these pioneering bears are protected,” said Patrick Kelly, Montana Director for Western Watersheds Project. “This welcome decision now means that as Wildlife Services carries out its grizzly bear killing program—often at the behest of public lands livestock permittees—the agency must meaningfully analyze the impacts of these killings on recovery of the species.”
A key concern for conservation groups was Wildlife Services’ failure to track how grizzly bear killings outside of recovery zones impact the broader population. These bears, known as “dispersing” bears, help establish natural connectivity between recovery zones, which is crucial for the genetic diversity and long-term survival of the species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified the lack of connectivity between grizzly bear recovery zones as a major obstacle to the species’ recovery.
“Grizzlies face multiple challenges to their recovery and sustainability,” said KC York, founder and president of Trap Free Montana. “We are pleased the court addressed the unknowns and dismissals of grizzlies facilitated by the Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services and ordered a light to be shined on this black hole of information to help grizzlies’ rightful recovery.”
This lawsuit follows WildEarth Guardians’ 2019 legal victory against Montana-Wildlife Services, which challenged the agency’s reliance on outdated environmental analyses to justify its predator-killing program. That case resulted in updated environmental analyses in 2021, which the conservation groups challenged again as inadequate in the lawsuit.
Wildlife Services, a federal program responsible for managing conflicts between wildlife and humans, kills hundreds of thousands of animals each year across the country, including native carnivores like grizzly bears. In Montana, the agency uses various methods to kill wildlife, including shooting from aircraft, trapping, and poisoning.
Grizzly bears, with a population of fewer than 2,000 in the lower 48 states, primarily inhabit two core areas: the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Their recovery hinges on establishing connectivity between these areas and other isolated populations, such as the Cabinet-Yaak, as well as restoring populations in places like the Bitterroot, where grizzlies were eradicated by human activity.
Reducing human-caused mortality, particularly management removals, remains essential to the recovery of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states.
