Federal judge stops grazing in grizzly habitat near Yellowstone

A federal judge in Missoula this week found that the U.S. Forest Service violated the law when authorizing expanded commercial livestock grazing leases north of Yellowstone National Park. “Judge Molloy’s decision has thankfully halted this misguided and illegal effort, likely preventing the deaths of many more grizzly bears.”The order affirmed an earlier decision by federal judge Kathleen DeSoto. The lawsuit notes portions of the six grazing allotments in question are in the grizzly bears’ Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem recovery zone. The court ultimately remanded the decision to the Forest Service to prepare a new analysis and vacated the decision to expand grazing on the six allotments. “The science is clear: grizzly bears need safe, livestock-free passage between population cores in order to fully recover,” said Lizzy Pennock, carnivore coexistence attorney at WildEarth Guardians, in a press statement.