Environmental lawsuits brought by myriad organizations tend to make me uneasy, but I completely agree with the main contention of this lawsuit, which was that the impacts of climate change were not considered in the delisting and these impacts are SIGNIFICANT. If you live in this area, as I do, you cannot deny the impacts. The catastrophic collapse of the whitebark pine is something I’ve seen happen in just the last 8-10 years and is nothing short of stunning. This particular tree is the hub of many ecological systems, and it will be reduced by over 90% in the next decade. No doubt. I’ve already seen ENTIRE mountain ranges collapse. Unfortunately, without a return of those week-long cold plunges of -45F in January, the Yellowstone grizz will probably remain on the list indefinitely. At least the protection takes the sting off of the food crash by affording more protections on the periphery.
Photo: Conservation Media
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/grizzly_bears_back_on_endangered_species_list/C559/L559/
