Judge: Groups can’t challenge endangered species plans

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that an environmental group has no legal standing to challenge the specific components of endangered species recovery plans.

The ruling last week came in a 2014 petition by the Center for Biological Diversity that asked federal wildlife officials to update a recovery plan for threatened grizzly bears.

It also asked the agency's plans to take into account updated information from new research. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen ruled that recovery plans are guidelines for the agency and not rules that can be challenged in court