Groups Challenge Courts To Protect Wolves

Three conservation groups filed an appeal on Friday with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging Congress on their budget bill that stripped more than 1,500 wolves in Idaho and Montana of federal Endangered Species Act protection.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and Cascadia Wildlands filed their appeal days after U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy reluctantly ruled that Congress was within their constitutional rights to use a bill about finance as a backdoor method to take away protection for the wolves.

The legislation effected wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains, including Montana, Idaho, eastern Oregon and Washington and northern Utah.

The Baltimore Sun said, “It was the first time an animal had been delisted by a political process rather than scientific review.”

“Wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains should be managed by science, not political meddling by Congress,” Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity said in a press release.

“This appeal is aimed at restoring needed protections to wolves in these states. Although numbers have risen, the job of wolf recovery is far from complete.”

Judge Molloy made it clear that he disapproved of the “budget rider” used by Congress, but felt he had to uphold the action because of a previous case that set precedence.

Even with Judge Molloy’s ruling the three activist organizations believe they will be able to demonstrate that Congress violated their authority.

“The wolf rider is a clear example of overreaching by Congress that resulted in the wrongful removal of protections for wolves,” said Josh Laughlin, campaign director with Cascadia Wildlands in Eugene, Ore.

“Wolves continue to be threatened by human intolerance and persecution — the very factors that resulted in their extinction across most of the United States,” said Jon Marvel, executive director of Western Watersheds Project. “Until there is more tolerance for wolves, they will continue to need protection.”

With protections lifted, states like Idaho have authorized a hunting-and-trapping season with no limit on how many wolves can be killed. They are only required to maintain 150 wolves out of an estimated population of 1,000.

Wolves in the western Rockies were nearly wiped out due to hunting, trapping and poisoning. After an extensive program was implemented to grow the population, nearly 100 were reintroduced to the region in the mid-1990s.

Today there are an estimated 1,000 in Idaho, 566 in Montana, only 25 in Oregon and 30 in Washington.

Is this really a large enough population to remove them from the protection provided by the Endangered Species Act?

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Photo from dennis matheson via flickr.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

federico b.

9:43AM PDT on Apr 19, 2012

Salviamo i lupi. FORZA!!!!

send a green star

Jane H.

5:25AM PST on Jan 28, 2012

see Defender's of Wildlife, site, for updates on Idaho's brutal, inhumane, proposed aerial hunting; trapping, these creatures. I have phoned the
White House Comments line, 202-456-1111; plus my Ohio State Senators, in objection to these actions!! Other comments on my Facebook Wall......

Cindy S.

5:22PM PST on Jan 27, 2012

We need to save these wolves they are beautiful creatures

mike r.

2:29PM PST on Jan 27, 2012

why can't polititians leave well enough alone.Wolves do fine without humans interfering .Everything thats wrong with nature is caused by humans.All this wolf persecution must have some type of underhanded payoff for these scumbags.The only time politics feels the need to get involved in anything is if there is money involved.In the meantime an entire species of awesome ,family oriented and intelligent animals are the ones who suffer.Everyone get pissed and keep pressure on our impotent congress

Ana P M.

9:56AM PST on Jan 20, 2012

Let the "ATTACKERS know what it's like to be "ATTACKED!"

Anneke A.

6:00AM PST on Jan 11, 2012

about time to attack the hunters the same irresponsible way

Marlene D.

2:41PM PST on Dec 19, 2011

they have rght to live why this disrespect for theirs lives????? i just can not comprehen!!!! iam so pssssswith this bastards pilitics.

Ivo V.

4:32AM PST on Dec 19, 2011

it sadens me yet again to read how the fat wealthy people of the panet get there way and more animals die. one day in the not too distant future when they are gone for good these same people ,or thier children, will be standing alone on a big blue cement covered marble called earth honestly wondering ..."where are all the animals, trees???... ???...no it's not my fault. Must be someone elses .

3:54AM PST on Dec 19, 2011

Removing the Protection for the wolves, was SHAMEFUL!!!! President Obama, never should have signed that Legislation. Man shouldf learn to co-exist with the wolves, etc. Seems as though some folk's intelligence has not progressed since the "stone age."

Jayne M.

12:55PM PST on Dec 11, 2011

Saving Wolves Saving Cougar, Oregon's Last Stand!
Please sign our petition below and support "License To Protect" Oregon's cougar and wolves!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Saving-Wolf-Saving-Cougar-Oregons-Last-Stand/