Summary: The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation has filed its final appellate brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to defend Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf recovery and state-led management.
On Monday, Sept. 31, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (SAF), with partners Safari Club International and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, filed its final appellate brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a case concerning the Endangered Species Act (ESA) status of wolves in Western states. Oral arguments on the case will take place before the Ninth Circuit in Missoula, Montana, in October.
Are Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves Recovered?
SAF continues to argue that wolves in the Northern Rockies (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and parts of Washington, Oregon, and Utah) have achieved recovery under the ESA, and that unrecovered populations of wolves in other western states, including an experimental population in Colorado, do not warrant relisting of the Northern Rocky Mountains Distinct Population Segment. SAF’s multiple briefs, both in the district court and the Ninth Circuit, have reiterated this fact, and have also explained to the courts that the animal-rights activists lack standing to bring these lawsuits.
History of the Wolf Relisting Petitions
In 2021, animal-rights activists petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to relist gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains. The petitions used the wolves’ recovery against it. They attempted to water down the Northern Rocky Mountain population’s recovery by combining it with other populations of wolves in western states that have not hit their recovery criteria yet. The Fish and Wildlife Service rightly rejected the petitions.
Legal Challenges and SAF Intervention
The petition denials led to a trio of lawsuits challenging the petition denials in federal court. SAF successfully intervened in those lawsuits and was the first party to appeal after the district court sided with the activists.
SAF will continue prosecuting this appeal and keep fighting for state-led management of wolves, in the courts, with the agencies, and in Congress.
Support the Sportsmen’s Alliance Mission
Issues like these are at the heart of the Sportsmen’s Alliance mission and we will continue to monitor this important issue. Don’t stand on the sidelines join us as a member or a donor of the Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund in protecting tomorrow’s hunting, fishing, and trapping heritage today.
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