Feds sued for taking gray wolves off endangered list

[Woodmonkey]

Feds sued for taking gray wolves off endangered list

Environmental and animal rights groups sued the federal government Monday, seeking to restore endangered species status for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lifted federal protections for the estimated 1,500 wolves in March. It turned over management responsibilities to state officials in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana for the first time in more than three decades.

The lawsuit alleges those states lack adequate laws to ensure wolves are not again eradicated from the region. At least 37 were killed in the last month.

The groups are seeking an immediate court order to restore federal control over the species until the case is resolved.

"We're very concerned that absent an injunction, hundreds of wolves could be killed under existing state management plans," said attorney Jason Rylander with Defenders of Wildlife, one of twelve groups that filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

Sharon Rose, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said her agency had not yet received the lawsuit and could not comment on the allegations.

Rose did say the agency's decision was based on science that will hold up in court.

"We believe we made the right decision — that the wolf had recovered and the regulatory mechanisms are there" to ensure its continued survival, Rose said.

When the wolves came off the endangered list, federal biologists argued the wolves' rapid reproductive rate would allow them to withstand increased hunting. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said it will put them back on the endangered list if the population dips below 300 animals.

The lawsuit argues that a "spate of wolf killings" last month showed state management could quickly reverse the wolf's fortunes. The injunction said state officials would allow wolves to be eliminated across most of Wyoming and large parts of Montana and Idaho.

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