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BILLINGS, Mont. — The fate of the Yellowstone region’s grizzly bears will be decided in federal court after the collapse of negotiations over whether the animals should be listed as endangered.
Roughly 600 grizzlies live in the forested mountains of the Yellowstone area, which includes portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Federal biologists say the population is healthy. But environmentalists argue grizzlies remain at risk and need the protections of the Endangered Species Act to survive.
Two lawsuits were filed against the government after those protections were lifted in 2007. Parties in the cases met in Missoula on Thursday to try to reach a settlement at the order of the judges overseeing the litigation. The Associated Press
