BNSF sued over lack of plan to reduce grizzly deaths

Two wildlife conservation groups 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 filed Thursday argues BNSF Railway and other railroads that use their tracks have been killing grizzly bears without an "incidental take permit" for decades. Such permits allow a certain number of protected animals to be killed in exchange for efforts to try to reduce the number of deaths. BNSF Railway says it has already taken many of the steps it proposes in its permit, such as fencing and removing dead wildlife and cattle from the tracks.