Spare the bears

Several conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, challenging the federal organization’s recent decision to de-list Yellowstone-area grizzly bears from the Endangered Species Act.

The lawsuit, filed in Idaho federal district court last week, is calling on the court to restore the Yellowstone population’s threatened status—a designation that was pulled in April after more than three decades shielding the bears. The move subjects the animals to hunting in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

According to officials from the Natural Resources Defense Council, a plaintiff in the suit, the bears face ongoing and threatened habitat destruction, and have insufficient numbers to maintain them in the long term. The group claims its position is backed by 270 scientists.