Six conservation organizations have taken legal action by filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their decision not to protect wolves in the northern U.S. Rocky Mountain region under the Endangered Species Act. They argue that states are given too much liberty to maintain the predator population at minimal levels. The lawsuit was submitted in U.S. District Court in Missoula, Montana on July 2nd.
The legal challenge stems from a ruling in February by the Fish and Wildlife Service, which declined conservationists’ requests to reinstate endangered species safeguards across the region. The agency stated that the wolves are not at risk of extinction as states are working to lower their numbers through hunting. Additionally, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to develop a national recovery strategy for wolves by December 2025, shifting from its prior approach of managing wolves regionally.
The lawsuit contends that the decision to withhold endangered status from wolves in the region goes against the Endangered Species Act due to inadequate evaluation of threats to the species and a failure to utilize the best available scientific information. It specifically criticizes wolf management programs in states like Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, where strategies include substantial reductions in wolf populations and, in the case of Wyoming, permitting wolves to be killed through various methods outside designated hunting zones.
One incident highlighted in the lawsuit involved a Wyoming man who captured a wolf with a snowmobile, silenced it, brought it into a bar, and subsequently killed it. Despite widespread condemnation, the individual only faced a $250 fine for illegal wildlife possession under state law. Responding to the lawsuit, the Fish and Wildlife Service did not provide immediate comment.
The plaintiffs in the legal action consist of Animal Wellness Action, the Center for a Humane Economy, Project Coyote, the Kettle Range Conservation Group, Footloose Montana, and the Gallatin Wildlife Association. According to Kate Chupka Schultz, a senior attorney for Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, Rocky Mountain states have relaxed regulations around wolf hunting, leading to aggressive campaigns to eliminate wolves using various means.
Wolves in the northern U.S. Rockies have been subject to protection as an endangered species intermittently since their initial delisting in 2008. Originally listed in 1974, wolf populations were successfully reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park and Idaho during the mid-1990s. As of 2017, wolves in the region have been off the federal endangered species list. Following the denial of the conservation groups’ petitions to relist wolves in February, state-managed wolf hunts have been allowed to continue in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, with wolf populations also present in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. It is estimated that approximately 2,800 wolves inhabit these seven states.