Stock photo
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates on Thursday asked a federal court to overturn a U.S. government decision that stripped Endangered Species Act protections for wolves across most of the nation.
Two coalitions of advocacy groups filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Northern California seeking to restore safeguards for a predator that is revered by wildlife watchers but feared by many livestock producers.
The Trump administration announced just days ahead of the Nov. 3 election that wolves were considered recovered. They had been wiped out out across most of the U.S. by the 1930s under government-sponsored poisoning and trapping campaigns.
A remnant population in the western Great Lakes region has since expanded to some 4,400 wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
More than 2,000 occupy six states in the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest after wolves from Canada were reintroduced in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park starting in 1995. Protections for wolves in the Rockies were lifted over the last decade and hunting of them is allowed.
But wolves remain absent across most of their historical range and the groups that filed Thursday’s lawsuits said continued protections are needed so wolf populations can continue to expand in Colorado, California and other states.
Some biologists who reviewed the administration’s plan to strip protections from wolves said it lacked scientific justification.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuits include the Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardians, Humane Society of the U.S. and numerous other environmental and advocacy groups.
A small population of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest remain protected as an endangered species. Wolves in Alaska were never under federal protection.
The post Groups ask court to restore protections for gray wolves appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com
Groups ask court to restore protections for gray wolves
More from IdahoMore posts in Idaho »
- Idaho suspends social worker scholarship program, cites budget concerns
- Family in fatal Idaho train crash identified
- Yelp, Levi’s, Lyft and Tinder tell SCOTUS: Idaho abortion laws are bad for business
- Due to early deadline, smaller Idaho GOP committee to play larger role selecting national delegates
- No veto this year: Little signs Idaho library bill to allow lawsuits over ‘harmful’ books
More from LocalMore posts in Local »
- Spike strip used to stop Ford Thunderbird during high speed chase that ended by Rexburg
- WATCH: Mountain lion caught falling from tree after being tranquilized in Pocatello
- Incumbent Bannock County commissioner defends his seat against primary challenger
- Pocatello aims to inspire young readers to become future city leaders
- Man going to prison for lewd conduct with 12-year-old
More from MontanaMore posts in Montana »
- These Yellowstone National Park roads are opening soon
- Biden administration restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump
- What do you get when you cross rodeo with skiing? The wild and wacky skijoring
- Man admits to killing Spokane mother in Bozeman, not in Idaho Falls, says prosecutor
- What is ‘normal’ earthquake activity in Yellowstone National Park?
More from NationalMore posts in National »
- You have to see this! 7-year-old girl honors deceased mother by selling lemonade to pay for headstone
- News organizations post open letter urging Biden and Trump to debate ahead of 2024 election
- Roku says 576,000 accounts breached in cyberattack
- Parents discovered bruises on their special-needs son. Now they’re sharing video of him being hit by aide on bus.
- Bill that would make first-cousin marriage illegal in Tennessee passes, but not without a fight
More from OutdoorsMore posts in Outdoors »
- WATCH: Mountain lion caught falling from tree after being tranquilized in Pocatello
- These Yellowstone National Park roads are opening soon
- Air Idaho Rescue now carrying whole blood on every flight
- Local butcher charged after reportedly allowing nearly a dozen animals to rot and grow mold in cooler
- Mountain lion sightings reported in Twin Falls neighborhood
More from WyomingMore posts in Wyoming »
- These Yellowstone National Park roads are opening soon
- What do you get when you cross rodeo with skiing? The wild and wacky skijoring
- What is ‘normal’ earthquake activity in Yellowstone National Park?
- 14 GOP-led states, including Idaho, have turned down federal money to feed low-income kids in the summer. Here’s why.
- You have to see this! Moose chases skiers, snowboarders down ski hill in Jackson Hole
Be First to Comment