Railway Pushed to Halt Grizzly Bear Deaths on Montana Tracks

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates have filed notice of their plan to sue BNSF Railway if it doesn’t do more to stop trains from killing grizzly bears on railroad tracks in the Northern Rockies.

The move announced Monday comes after trains have killed eight grizzlies in northwestern Montana so far in 2019. That’s the most ever recorded in a single year.

Attorneys for the Western Environmental Law Center and other groups say slowing down trains and scheduling fewer at night could help reduce bear deaths.

The legal notice sent to BNSF gives the company 60 days to respond before a lawsuit can be filed.

A BNSF spokeswoman says the railway works to prevent bear killings including by removing carrion and grain from tracks.

Grizzly bears are federally protected across the Lower 48 states.