LOS ANGELES, June 30, (Xinhua) -- A group of conservation nonprofit organizations announced Friday that they would sue the Trump administration to block its plan to remove federal protections for grizzly bears living in and around Yellowstone National Park.
According to a report of National Public Radio, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Center for Biological Diversity, the Humane Society of the United States and WildEarth Guardians together filed a 60-day notice of intent to block the move by suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
That step was required under the Endangered Species Act and was intended to give the agency a chance to address the groups' concerns before they file a lawsuit, the report said.
Grizzlies have been listed as endangered and protected species under the Endangered Species Act since 1975, when only 136 of them lived in the Yellowstone region. However, the U.S. Interior Department said last week the population of bears living there recovered to about 700, meaning they no longer require protection.
But advocates for Yellowstone National Park's grizzlies say they are not out of trouble yet.
They argue that the high-elevation whitebark pines, whose seeds are an important food source for the bears, have been severely impacted by disease, insects and climate change, causing the animals to consume more meat.
The conservationists said that even though bear-human conflicts do not pose a threat to the Yellowstone grizzly bears now, stripping federal protections would leave grizzlies living in and around Yellowstone National Park in danger due to the fact that the states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have opened the door for limited hunting.
WildEarth Guardians said in a statement that the decision "prematurely removes vital federal safeguards from one of the nation's most cherished species... handing over the bears' fate to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, each of which plans to permit grizzly trophy hunting."
In a statement issued Thursday, Andrea Santarsiere, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the "irresponsible decision ignores both science and the majority of Americans who want our wild animals protected."
Yellowstone National Park, located in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, is the world's first national park and home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elks and antelope.
