A group of multimillion dollar anti-hunting organizations has voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit to relist Northern Rocky Mountain wolves under the Endangered Species Act due to a calculation error. However, they intend to immediately refile.
In February, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied two petitions to relist wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain region—which is comprised of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, the eastern third of Washington and Oregon, and a small portion of northern Utah—under the Endangered Species Act. The petitions were filed by Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society of the United States, Western Watershed Project and the Sierra Club.
The organizations then filed two federal lawsuits challenging the denial in April. In May, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and partners were granted intervention in those cases. And yesterday, the parties stipulated to a voluntary dismissal of the cases.
The Endangered Species Act requires that parties give the government a notice of intent to file a lawsuit 60 days before they file the suit. “The plaintiffs jumped the gun and filed a day early,” said Michael Jean, litigation counsel for Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “Because their 60th day was a Sunday, they had to wait one more business day before they could file the lawsuit. They didn’t do that, and the court doesn’t have jurisdiction to hear the cases that they prematurely filed.”
The plaintiffs intend to “immediately refile” their lawsuits after the court enters the order dismissing them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and its partners intend to intervene in the new lawsuits once they are filed. “This isn’t over yet. We’re in this fight for the long haul,” Jean concluded.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance and its supporting Foundation protect and defend America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. The organization accomplishes this mission through several distinct programs, including public education, advocacy, litigation and research. Stay connected to the Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
