Louisiana Black Bear Rightly Lost Federal Protection, Judge Says

Conservation groups lost their challenge to a US Fish and Wildlife Service decision that removed federal protections for the Louisiana black bear, when a judge said the agency lawfully delisted the subspecies.

FWS removed the Louisiana black bear from the Endangered Species List in 2016 after determining that its population had recovered and it was no longer threatened. Before it was listed, the bear—one of three black bear subspecies found in the southeastern US—had lost large portions of its habitat due to agriculture, and was the victim of illegal killings.

But the Sierra Club, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, and other groups claimed ...