BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Attorneys for the U.S. government and the state of Wyoming urged an appeals court Tuesday to throw out much of a judge's ruling that blocked the first grizzly bear hunts in the Lower 48 states in almost three decades.

The case is before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It involves more than 700 grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park that had their protections stripped away and then restored by a judge in Montana just as hunting was scheduled to begin.

U.S. Justice Department attorney Joan Pepin argued during a hearing held by video conference that Ju...