Judge Donald Malloy of the federal district court in Montana is turning into a regular defender of wildlife. Although he allowed the grey wolf slaughter to go ahead in Montana and Idaho, on Monday he ruled that the US Fish & Wildlife Service must put the Yellowstone grizzly bear back on the endangered species list. He found the Service's conclusion that Yellowstone bears would find enough food and protected habitat to survive in states surround the Park not based on the agency's own science data. He also concluded that protections authorized so far are not enforceable. The grizzly is suffering from a lack of whitebark pine seeds, a high fat food source wiped out by pine beetle infestation caused by higher temperatures. Whitebark pines grow in high, remote places so foraging bears, especially females, are kept out of harm's way. Bears die at a rate two to three times higher in years with low seed production. Malloy bluntly wrote in his decision that Service's conclusion contradict the science, therefore "the conclusions are not reasonable, and the court need not defer to the agency's decision." The agency removed grizzlies from the list in 2007. Under the exploitation policies of the Regime more than 630,000 acres of prime habitat were opened up to logging and more than 850,000 acres were opened to oil and gas operations. Another opinion on grizzly populations in the Northern Rockies is expected from a pending case in the District of Idaho. [photo: USF&W]