On April 8, Wilderness Watch and nine conservation groups filed a new lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its failure to list western wolves under the Endangered Species Act—a failure that ignores obvious threats to gray wolves from unchecked hunting and trapping in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, runs contrary to the best available science, and relies on flawed population models for its determination.
As Wilderness Watch’s executive director George Nickas noted in our press release, “The Biden administration and its Fish and Wildlife Service are complicit in the horrific war on wolves being waged by the states of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Idaho is fighting to open airstrips all over the backcountry, including in designated Wilderness, to get more hunters to wipe out wolves in their most remote hideouts. Montana is resorting to night hunting and shooting over bait and Wyoming has simply declared an open season. It’s unfortunate that citizens have to turn to the courts, but it seems that like their state counterparts, federal officials have lost all reverence or respect for these iconic wilderness animals.” Our new lawsuit to protect wolves comes on the heels of some truly disturbing news out of Wyoming. On February 29, a Wyoming man ran down a wolf with a snowmobile, which is legal in Wyoming, disabling the wolf. The man then allegedly taped the mouth of the helpless wolf shut, then paraded it around a bar before finally taking the wolf behind the bar and shooting it. This sadistic mentality is driving the war on wolves in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana—and is exactly why wolves in these states need federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Joining us on our lawsuit to protect wolves are Western Watersheds Project, Friends of the Clearwater, Trap Free Montana, Protect the Wolves, International Wildlife Coexistence Network, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, WildEarth Guardians, and Predator Defense. We’re represented by Western Environmental Law Center.
Wolves belong, and the Wilderness areas of the Northern Rockies need wolves to truly be wild. That’s why, together with your support and your actions, we will continue fighting for wolves until these iconic wilderness animals get the respect—and protection—that they need to survive and thrive. |
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A generous member has pledged to DOUBLE all first-time donations up to $30,000 this year. |
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