Protecting Grizzly Bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

This case study by Earthjustice details legal efforts to maintain Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, highlighting the impact of climate change on bear diets and population trends.

• Grizzly bear populations in the lower-48 states suffered a massive decline, retaining only 1% of their historic range and 1–2% of their historic numbers because of habitat destruction and persecution.
• Climate change has caused the loss of whitebark pine seeds and cutthroat trout, two critical food sources for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region. This has forced bears toward a more meat-based diet, which increases conflicts with humans and leads to higher mortality rates.
• Legal actions led by Earthjustice and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition resulted in a November 2011 federal appeals court ruling that reinstated Endangered Species Act protections for Yellowstone grizzly bears, citing the government's irrational response to climate-driven food source loss.
• Data analysis of government conflict and mortality records indicates a declining population trend for the Yellowstone-area grizzly bear population between 2007 and 2013.

APA

Earthjustice (2001). Protecting Grizzly Bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. https://earthjustice.org/case/grizzly-bears-greater-yellowstone-ecosystem-northern-rockies

Chicago

Earthjustice. Protecting Grizzly Bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. 2001. https://earthjustice.org/case/grizzly-bears-greater-yellowstone-ecosystem-northern-rockies.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=Protecting Grizzly Bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem |date=19 February 2001 |url=https://earthjustice.org/case/grizzly-bears-greater-yellowstone-ecosystem-northern-rockies |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2001protecting, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Protecting Grizzly Bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2001}, month = feb, url = {https://earthjustice.org/case/grizzly-bears-greater-yellowstone-ecosystem-northern-rockies}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }