We have great news for wolves, grizzly bears, and Wilderness!
Thanks to a lawsuit by Wilderness Watch and our allies, and exemplary legal work by the attorneys at Earthjustice, on March 19 an Idaho District Court shut down the State of Idaho’s wolf trapping and snaring program through spring, summer, and fall in areas that serve as grizzly bear habitat. Specifically, the judge’s decision ends wolf trapping and snaring in Idaho’s Panhandle, Clearwater, Salmon, and Upper Snake regions between March 1 and November 30 on public and private lands—including Wilderness—to prevent grizzly bears from being maimed or killed by traps and snares. As you may recall, back in December 2021, Wilderness Watch and 12 conservation allies filed the original lawsuit over the deadly impacts of Idaho’s expanded wolf trapping and snaring to grizzly bears, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The stated goal of Idaho’s brutal war on wolves is to slaughter up to 90 percent of the gray wolf population across the state. In July 2021, Idaho outdid itself by establishing a permanent wolf-trapping season on private property across the state, eliminating limits on the number of wolves a person can kill, and providing essentially a bounty with state-sponsored, private contractors to kill wolves. If this wasn’t all bad enough, Idaho’s decision to continue wolf baiting with meat and scent all but ensures that grizzly bears will be lured to wolf traps and snares.
Grizzly bears have been captured, injured, or killed by wolf traps and snares in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, and the court found that Idaho’s trapping rules violate the Endangered Species Act because grizzlies are likely to be captured in these deadly traps in the future.
The court decision clearly stated, “There is ample evidence in the record, including from Idaho’s own witnesses, that lawfully set wolf traps and snares are reasonably likely to take grizzly bears in Idaho.”
This ruling is a big victory for grizzly bears, wolves, Wilderness, and other native wildlife in Idaho! As we celebrate this victory against Idaho’s war on wolves, we fully expect the state will appeal the ruling as part of its quest to eradicate up to 90 percent of the wolves in Idaho. We’ll be ready when they do.
So please, if you are able, consider making a special donation so we can continue defending wolves, grizzly bears, and all the wildlife that call Wilderness home. |
