Crow Indian Tribe v. United States

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals largely affirmed a district court order that remanded to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) a rule delisting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem distinct population segment of grizzly bears under the Endangered Species Act. The Ninth Circuit agreed with the district court that the FWS’s commitment to ensuring the long-term genetic diversity of the Yellowstone grizzly was not adequate and that the FWS must commit to “recalibration” in the event of changes to the method of estimating the Yellowstone grizzly population. The lawsuits challenging the delisting rule had alleged threats to the Yellowstone grizzly bears due to climate change impacts on food sources and habitat.