Yogi and Boo-Boo Get a Reprieve

The U.S.D.C. for the District of Montana (per Christensen, C.J.) issued a temporary restraining order blocking the hunting of the  Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Grizzly bear.  The case is entitled Crow Indian Tribe v. U.S.

Significantly, the Court’s order noted:

Here, the Court finds that the Plaintiffs’ arguments raise “serious questions going to the merits.” At minimum, the current issue is close to that recently presented in Humane Society of the United States v. Zinke, 865 F.3d 585 (D.C. Cir. 2017), in which the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the ESA when it isolated and delisted a distinct population segment without considering the legal and functional impact on the remainder of the species.