On June
2, 2009, a coalition of conservation groups
(including the Alliance) represented by
Earthjustice filed suit in U.S. District
Court in Montana against the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service for its April 2009
decision to remove wolves in Montana and
Idaho from Endangered Species Act protection.
On August 5, 2010, U.S. District
Judge Donald Molloy ruled in the case,
deciding that the act
does not allow Fish and Wildlife to remove
federal protection of wolves in those states,
while keeping protections for wolves in
Wyoming. This ruling effectively reinstated
Endangered Species Act protections for
all Northern Rockies gray wolves.
Essentially, Molloy ruled that wolves
in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana either all
have to be under federal protection, or
all under state management plans that ensure
the viability of the species.
"The Northern Rocky Mountain gray
wolf distinct population segment must be
listed, or delisted, as a distinct population
and protected accordingly," Molloy
wrote in his decision. He ruled that the
Endangered Species Act does not allow the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list
only part of a species as endangered, and
ordered that the
rule delisting wolves in
Montana and Idaho must be set aside. (Click
here for Molloy's complete ruling,
and
here for
our press release about it.)
This ruling validates the conservation
groups' contention that the April 2009
federal rule delisting wolves contradicted
Fish and Wildlife’s
own stated policy that wildlife populations
must be considered by region. (The delisting
rule excluded wolves in Wyoming because
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined
that Wyoming's current state law and wolf
management plan -- which basically classifies
wolves as predators that can be killed
on sight throughout most of the state --
are not sufficient to conserve its portion
of the Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf
population. While the coalition agreed
that Wyoming’s
wolves should remain under federal protection,
we questioned both the legal and biological
consequences of separating out a part of
what is already a small, distinct population.
The coalition also contended that Idaho
and Montana's management plans would severely
limit the number of wolves in the Greater
Yellowstone ecosystem, isolate wolf populations
and increase the long-term risk of inbreeding.)
Molloy's ruling may result in Montana
and Idaho putting pressure on Wyoming to
reject the predator zone in favor of trophy
game status for wolves statewide, in which
case people who wanted to kill wolves would
have to apply for a hunting license to
do so.
Highlighting the controversy surrounding
this issue, Wyoming Attorney General Bruce
Salzburg sought a ruling (also on June
2, 2009) from a federal judge in Cheyenne
that would include Wyoming’s wolves
in the April 2009 delisting. This suit
is still pending, but may become moot due
to Molloy's recent ruling.
Meanwhile, during Spring 2010, despite
reports from Wyoming Game and Fish that
elk hunter success remains high, and that
overall herd numbers are over objective,
some outfitters expressed concerns
that wolves are solely responsible for
low cow/calf ratios, or low numbers, in
segments of some of Wyoming's elk herds.
For an excellent Casper Star-Tribune editorial
titled "Don't
blame wolves for elk hunting woes" from
March 19 that addresses this issue, please click
here. On April 28, the Jackson Hole
News&Guide also ran two pertinent and
well-researched articles worth checking
out: “Wolves make few unnecessary
elk kills, study says” (available
by clicking
here) and “State elk count 34
percent above objective” (click
here). (Another News&Guide article
that ran on May 12 titled "Moose declines
puzzling" (click
here for a link) reports that poor
habitat, malnutrition and various predators
are all taking a toll on Jackson Hole's
moose population, although experts disagree
about the degree to which predators are
responsible.)
The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance
believes that Wyoming and the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service need to use the best
available science for a wolf management
plan that will work for the health of all
species -- predator and prey alike.
Our
goal is to have the Wyoming Legislature
eliminate the wolf predator zone, designate
the entire state (excluding national parks)
a trophy game zone, and to have the Wyoming
Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service use the best available
science in managing wolves so as to assure
their long-term viability, including consistent
interconnections between the wolves in
Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
We’ll keep you posted on this issue
as it plays out. Meanwhile, background
information is provided below.
Background information:
On March 6, 2009, Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar announced the federal
government's decision to proceed with eliminating
Endangered Species Act protections for
wolves in the northern Rockies, except
for those in Wyoming. (This decision revives
a second delisting attempt begun by the
Bush administration that was halted in
January for review when the Obama administration
took office. The first delisting attempt
took place in March 2008. Groups including
the Conservation Alliance, represented
by Earthjustice, successfully sued to get
the protections reinstated in July 2008.)
A Department of the Interior press
release dated March 6, 2009, stated that "The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided
to delist the wolf in Idaho and Montana
because they have approved state wolf management
plans in place that will ensure the conservation
of the species in the future. At the same
time, the Service determined that wolves
in Wyoming would still be listed under
the Endangered Species Act because Wyoming's
current state law and wolf management plan
are not sufficient to conserve its portion
of the northern Rocky Mountain wolf population."
After
unsuccessful attempts to alter Wyoming’s
wolf management plan during the Winter
2009 state legislative session, it remains
unchanged: Wolves are considered trophy
game only in the northwest corner of the
state; in the remaining 88 percent of Wyoming,
wolves are considered predators, subject
to killing by anyone at anytime, by virtually
any means.
The federal split-delisting decision
came as Yellowstone Park wolf populations
declined by 27 percent during 2008 -- one
of the largest declines reported since
wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone
in 1995. (The wolf population in Yellowstone
declined by another 23 percent in 2009.)
Wolf populations in the northern
Rockies don't mix enough between the
Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, central
Idaho and northwest Montana to prevent
inbreeding, thus the species' long-term
health and survival is at risk. Independent
scientists say that between 2,000 and 3,000
wolves are needed to have a sustainable,
fully-recovered population. However, after
delisting, the northern Rockies wolf population
may be allowed to drop to only 300 to 450
wolves.
In addition to Wyoming, Montana
and Idaho also haven't made enforceable
commitments to maintaining viable wolf
populations within their borders. Both
Idaho and Montana had wolf hunting seasons
in 2009, as well as aggressive “control” programs.
In 2009, Montana "removed" 145 wolves by
agency control and 72 by hunting, and Idaho
removed 93 by agency control and 134 by
hunting. In Wyoming, 32 wolves were removed
by agency control.
On April 2, 2009, the delisting rule
was published in the Federal Register and
the rule took effect on May 4, 2009. (Click
here for a
PDF of the published rule.)
For more information,
please contact Louise Lasley at (307)
733-9417 or Louise@jhalliance.org.
Northern Rockies Gray
Wolves Timeline:
Late 1920s: It's
generally assumed that the last of Wyoming's
original wolves was killed in 1927, however
sightings were reported as late as the
early 1940s.
Late 1930s: Most wolves
have been exterminated everywhere in the
United States, except for Northern Minnesota.
1973: Congress passes
the Endangered Species Act.
1974: Gray wolves are listed as an endangered
species in 47 of the lower 48 states. (They're
listed as threatened in Minnesota.)
1995
and 1996: Thirty-one Canadian-born
wolves are released into Yellowstone
National Park.
March 28, 2008: The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service took wolves in
the Northern Rockies off the endangered
species list, and their management shifted
from the federal government to the game
departments in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.
In Wyoming, this meant that wolves venturing
into the newly created predator zone (88
percent of the state) were subject to being
killed by anyone at any time and by nearly
any means. (As of mid-July, 24
wolves were reported killed in Wyoming
since delisting began -- 12 were killed
in the predator zone, eight were killed
outside the predator zone to
control depredation, two were killed by
cars, one died naturally, and one was
illegally killed near Moran. A total
of 91 wolves were reported killed
in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana between March
28 and mid-July.)
April 28, 2008: The Conservation
Alliance, along with 11 other organizations,
filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court
in Montana to have the delisting decision
overturned. The original recovery goal
for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies
was to build a total population of 300
-- about 100 in the greater Yellowstone
area (mostly in northwest Wyoming), 100
in central Idaho and 100 in northwest Montana.
The federal government's original objective,
which was drafted in 1987 and finalized
in 1994, also called for at least 30 breeding
pairs spread across the three groups, and
some genetic interchange among them to
prevent inbreeding. During 2008, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated
that there were about 1,500 wolves in the
three states and more than 100 breeding
pairs. But a geneticist with the Natural
Resources Defense Council (one of the lawsuit
participants) says that scientists now
understand that there should be 2,000 to
5,000 wolves in the Northern Rockies before
the federal government can call the species "recovered" here.
(Click
here for more information about the
lawsuit.)
Also on April 28: The
conservation groups also filed a request
for an immediate injunction that would
return wolf management to the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service while the above case
was being heard.
July 18, 2008: The above
injunction took effect on July 18, when
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy granted
our request and reinstated Endangered Species
Act protection for wolves in Wyoming, Montana
and Idaho while our lawsuit challenging
delisting worked its way through the courts.
In his injunction ruling, Molloy said the
federal government had not met its own
standard for wolf recovery, and that wolf-control
laws in the three states were "more
than likely to eliminate any chance for
genetic exchange to occur." Such
exchange is needed to ensure healthy wolf
populations. In the
wake of Molloy’s decision, all three
states postponed their plans to establish
wolf-hunting seasons this fall. For more
information about the injunction ruling, click
here.
Sept. 19, 2008: Wyoming
State Rep. Keith Gingery (R-Jackson) announced
plans to introduce a bill during the next
legislative session to change Wyoming's
current
"dual classification" wolf management
plan. Gingery's proposed bill would remove
Wyoming's wolf predator zone, and instead
make the entire state a trophy game zone,
where people would have to apply for wolf
hunting licenses.
Sept. 22, 2008: It was
expected that the federal government would
appeal Molloy's injunction decision. But
instead, on Sept. 22, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service began the process of having
wolves relisted. Click
here for a press
release about the action.
Sept. 29, 2008: A federal
judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in another
wolf case, this one brought by animal rights
and pro-wolf groups challenging U.S. Fish
and Wildlife's final rule delisting the
Western Great Lakes wolf population. In
this case, the judge ruled that the agency
erred in delisting those wolves in February
of 2007. The judge found that Fish and
Wildlife’s
decision to break wolf populations
into distinct population segments violated
the Endangered Species Act, thus making
the delisting order illegal. (We had also
challenged Fish and Wildlife’s decision
to segment the Northern Rockies wolf population,
but the judge in our case focused on other
issues, such as population connectivity
and shortcomings of the states’ wolf
management plans.)
Oct. 14, 2008: U.S. District
Judge Donald Molloy granted Fish and Wildlife's
motion to withdraw its delisting rule,
making our lawsuit moot. For now, Northern
Rockies gray wolves are officially
back on the list of endangered species. Click
here for a PDF of the judge's order.
Oct. 27, 2008: The Associated
Press reported that Doug Smith, wolf project
leader for Yellowstone National Park, predicted
that the park's wolf population would continue
to decline in 2009 due to disease (probably
distemper), and to a relatively high number
of adult wolves killing other wolves. The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recently
released midyear census figures for Wyoming
counted 332 wolves in 34 recognised packs
statewide, including those in Yellowstone
National Park, versus 362 wolves in 33
packs in 2007. The number of breeding pairs
in Wyoming also declined from 27 in 2007
to 22 in 2008.
Oct. 28, 2008: The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service asked the public
to comment again by Nov. 28 on its unchanged
2007 proposal to delist Northern Rockies
gray wolves. On Nov. 3, 13 groups including
the Alliance formally asked the government
to extend the comment period to January,
but, in a letter dated Nov. 25, this request
was denied. Click
here for a PDF of the Conservation
Alliance's comments.
Jan. 12, 2009: Yellowstone
National Park officials reported that the
number of wolves in the park declined from
171 in 2007 to 124 in 2008. The number
of breeding pairs in Yellowstone also decreased
from 10 to six, marking the lowest number
recorded since 2000. Distemper, mange and
wolves killing each other are the most
likely causes of the decline, park biologists
said.
Jan. 14, 2009: The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service announced that
it will remove Northern Rockies gray wolves
from federal protection everywhere but
Wyoming.
Jan. 21, 2009: The day
after the Jan. 20th inauguration, the incoming
Obama administration took immediate steps
to halt implementation of last-minute rules
and regulations made by the outgoing Bush
administration. All changes proposed that
had not yet been published in the Federal
Register (including wolf delisting) were
put on hold pending re-evaluation.
March 6, 2009: Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar announced the federal
government's decision to proceed with eliminating
Endangered Species Act protections for
wolves in the northern Rockies, except
for those in Wyoming.
April 2, 2009: The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service published its
new delisting rule for Northern Rockies
gray wolves in the Federal Register; Conservation
groups including the Alliance, represented
by Earthjustice, served Fish and Wildlife
with a notice that the delisting violates
the Endangered Species Act.
May 4, 2009: The new delisting rule took
effect.
June 2, 2009: A coalition
of 12 conservation groups represented by
Earthjustice filed suit in U.S. District
court in Montana against the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service for its decision to
remove wolves in Montana and Idaho from
Endangered Species Act protection.
August 21, 2009: The
coalition, which includes the Conservation
Alliance, asked a federal district court
to block fall wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana.
Sept. 8, 2009: U.S. District
Judge Donald Molloy issued an order
finding that the delisting of
wolves in the northern Rockies was likely
illegal. But he declined to stop wolf hunts
in Idaho and Montana, because the coalition
did not prove that a single hunting season
at these levels in Montana and Idaho would "irreparably
harm"
the wolf population as a whole.
August 5, 2010: U.S.
District Judge Donald Molloy ruled that
northern Rocky Mountain gray wolves must
be listed, or delisted, as a distinct population
and protected accordingly. He vacated the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's April
2, 2009, rule delisting wolves in Montana
and Idaho, and effectively reinstated Endangered
Species Act protections for all Northern
Rockies gray wolves. |