Lawsuit: Louisiana Black Bear’s Delisting as Endangered was Premature

Posted on November 7, 2017 by GJEP staff

Washington, DC — Survival of the Louisiana black bear requires that it regain protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, according to a notice of intent to file suit released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The filing contends that the 2016 delisting of the Louisiana black bear was extremely premature, based on false premises, and flew in the face of a wealth of the best available science – the standard that is supposed to govern Endangered Species Act (ESA) decisions.
The bear was listed as threatened under the ESA back in 1992, but the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) declared it recovered last year and removed that designation. This decision came despite the fact that the Louisiana black bear has lost 99% of its historic population (with only an…