Crow Indian Tribe et al v. United States of America et al
Filing
258
ORDER: the Temporary Restraining Order issued on August 30, 2018 254 is EXTENDED. Defendants and Defendant-Intervenors continue to be temporarily restrained and enjoined from authorizing and/or implementing grizzly bear hunting. This Order shall remain in effect for fourteen days from this date. Signed by Judge Dana L. Christensen on 9/13/2018. Associated Cases: 9:17-cv-00089-DLC et al. (ASG)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
MISSOULA DIVISION
CROW INDIAN TRIBE; et al.,
CV 17-89-M-DLC
Plaintiffs,
vs.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; et al.,
Federal Defendants.
(Consolidated with Case Nos.
CV 17-117-M-DLC,
CV 17-118-M-DLC
'
CV 17-119-M-DLC
'
CV 17-123-M-DLC
and CV 18-16-M-DLC)
and
ORDER
STATE OF WYOMING; et al.,
Defendant-Intervenors.
On August 30, 2018, this Court granted the Plaintiffs' motions for a
temporary restraining order ("TRO") (Docs. 251 & 252) and enjoined the
Defendants and Defendant-Intervenors from authorizing and/or implementing
grizzly bear hunting. (Doc. 254). Absent extension, the TRO would expire on
Thursday, September 13, 2018. However, the Court finds that good cause
supports extending the TRO for an additional fourteen days. See Fed. R. Civ. P.
65(b).
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Good cause exists to extend the TRO while the Court completes its order
addressing the merits of the pending cross-motions for summary judgment. A
TRO is appropriate "if there is a likelihood of irreparable injury to plaintiff; there
are serious questions going to the merits; the balance of hardships tips sharply in
favor of the plaintiff; and the injunction is in the public interest." MR. v. Dreyfus,
697 F.3d 706, 725 (9th Cir. 2012). As discussed in this Court's order of August
30, 2018, the standard for a TRO has been met in this case.
There remain serious questions regarding whether FWS complied with the
Administrative Procedure Act and the Endangered Species Act in delisting the
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear population. (Doc. 254 at 4.) If the
Court does not extend the temporary restraining order, as many as 23 bears may be
killed in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Their death would cause irreparable
injury to the Plaintiffs. (Doc. 254 at 2-3.) In the absence of a TRO, the Plaintiffs
face the potential death of members of a threatened species. That hardship
substantially outweighs the hardship to be endured by the Defendants and
Intervenor-Defendants, who must refrain only from hunting grizzly bears for an
additional two weeks. Finally, Congress has made clear that endangered and
threatened species "are of esthetic, educational, historical, recreational, and
scientific value to the Nation and its people"; thus, given the possibility that FWS
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erred in delisting the population, an injunction is in the public interest. 16 U.S.C.
ยง 153 l(a)(3).
In extending the TRO, the Court does not circumvent the legal requirements
for a preliminary or permanent injunction but only preserves the status quo
pending final resolution of this matter. The parties have had the opportunity to
present their arguments in their briefs and at the hearing on the merits held on
August 30, 2018. The present extension will provide the Court the time it needs
to fully consider and respond to the parties' arguments.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the Temporary Restraining Order issued
on August 30, 2018 (Doc. 254) is EXTENDED. Defendants and DefendantIntervenors continue to be temporarily restrained and enjoined from authorizing
and/or implementing grizzly bear hunting. This Order shall remain in effect for
fourteen days from this date.
DATED this
13+t.tday of September, 2018.
Dana L. Christensen, Chief Judge
United States District Court
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