Conservation Groups Sue BNSF Railway Over Grizzly Bear Deaths

The lawsuit alleges decades-long violations of the Endangered Species Act due to lack of an incidental take permit.

Two wildlife conservation groups, WildEarth Guardians and the Western Environmental Law Center, have filed a lawsuit against BNSF Railway over delays in finalizing a plan to reduce the number of federally protected grizzly bears that are killed by trains in northwestern Montana and northern Idaho.
The lawsuit argues that BNSF and other railroads that use their tracks, including Amtrak, have been killing grizzly bears without an incidental take permit for decades.
BNSF's draft plan for reducing the number of grizzly bears killed was put out for public comment in January 2021, but it still hasn't been approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Despite not having a habitat conservation plan, BNSF Railway has implemented many of its proposed requirements, including removing spilled grain and dead livestock and wildlife from the tracks; reducing vegetation that might attract grizzly bears; and providing educational programs.
The lawsuit asks a judge to rule that BNSF Railway has violated the Endangered Species Act by not having an incidental take permit and to order it to cease killing grizzly bears.