BILLINGS, Mont. - A federal judge in Montana restored protections yesterday for an estimated 600 grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park, citing in part a decline in their food supply caused by climate change.
After bouncing back from near-extermination last century, grizzlies were declared recovered in 2007, when they were stripped of their threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.
But in a 46-page ruling, US District Judge Donald Molloy sided with environmental groups that argued the bruins remain at risk.
Among other factors, he cited a decline in whitebark pine trees - a key food source for many bears that has been disrupted by climate change, forest fires, and other factors.
Government researchers have made similar links, but that research was downplayed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in its 2007 decision.
“There is a disconnect between the studies the agency relies on here and its conclusions,’’ Molloy wrote in his ruling. “These studies still state that there is a connection between whitebark pine and grizzly survival.’’
The greater Yellowstone area of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming has the second-largest grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states. Four other populations with a combined estimated population of 900 animals have never lost their threatened status.
