Stay updated with breaking news from Yaak. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
A railroad that rides tracks near the core of grizzly recovery zones in Montana along the southern boundary of Glacier National Park and in Idaho was sued Thursday over the deaths of grizzly bears that often are drawn to the tracks by carrion or spilled grains.
A lawsuit filed in federal district court alleges that Burlington Northern - Santa Fe has not take adequate precautions to protect grizzly bears from death.
The lawsuit states that 52 grizzlies were killed by trains around the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem from 2008 to 2018. In 2019, train-related grizzly deaths in the NCDE hit an annual high of eight that year. And three grizzlies were killed by trains just days apart from each other in September 2023.
"Wildlife groups aren’t sure what is worse: That trains have killed more than 63 grizzly bears in northern Montana since 2018, or that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad has seemed to ignore requests to help alleviate the problem."
Two environmental groups are suing Burlington Northern Santa Fe over the train-related deaths of dozens of federally protected grizzly bears in northwestern Mon