Groups sue to relist wolves

LANDER - Wolves in the Northern Rockies will soon be back under federal protection if conservation groups succeed in getting a court injunction against the month-old delisting decision.

A coalition of 12 environmental organizations filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monday in a U.S. District Court in Missoula, Mont.

Citing what they call a "spate of wolf killings" since the animals lost federal Endangered Species Act protection, the petitioners are seeking an immediate injunction against the delisting decision in order to "prevent irreparable harm to wolves" while the larger case is pending.

The complaint claims there is "overwhelming evidence" that gray wolves are not yet "biologically recovered," and it calls the delisting decision "arbitrary" and "capricious."

The petitioners - including the Sierra Club, the Defenders of Wildlife, the Humane Society and the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance - are asking Chief District Judge Donald Molloy to restore Endangered Species Act protection for wolves in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, until the species' genetic viability is ensured.

In a written response to news of the lawsuit Monday, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department called the coalition's action "both unnecessary and unproductive," and asserted that wolves in the Northern Rockies are "doing extremely well."

See more in Tuesday's Casper Star-Tribune.