Recent wolf & grizzly bear rulings set back progress, biologists, managers say

Here’s a good overview from today’s Missoulian of the trade-offs involved with two recent federal court rulings concerning wolf and grizzly bear management. Chris Servheen’s comments regarding the potential negative impact on grizzly bear recovery are particularly interesting . . .

Wolves and bears don’t behave well in courtrooms.

But the two big predators are likely to spend the next 18 months there as their advocates and enemies try to untangle them from the federal Endangered Species Act.

Last week, Montana wildlife managers decided to appeal U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy’s Aug. 5 decision placing the gray wolf back under federal protection. Meanwhile, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials in Missoula appealed another Molloy ruling that prevented state management of Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bears.

Read the full article . . .