"Groups Sue U.S. To Halt Killing of Grizzlies Near Yellowstone"

"Wildlife advocates are suing the Obama administration to prevent the killing of protected grizzly bears that come into conflict with sportsmen over elk they kill or wound during annual hunts in northwest Wyoming.

The Sierra Club and Western Watersheds Project accuses the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of violating the Endangered Species Act with a permit allowing four grizzlies to be killed over seven years during elk hunts in Grand Teton National Park, south of Yellowstone National Park.

The wildlife advocates argue that those anticipated grizzly deaths, combined with federal permits sanctioning the deaths of grizzlies elsewhere in the region, may mean that as many as 65 female bears could be killed annually."

Laura Zuckerman reports for Reuters April 6, 2015.