News from Center of Biological Diversity.

Center Fights for Wolf Protections at Federal Hearing

Our fight to save America's wolves continued this week -- this time in a Montana courtroom. Center for Biological Diversity attorneys were in Missoula on Tuesday arguing that it was unconstitutional for Congress to strip Endangered Species Act protections from wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. Specifically, we're in court challenging the rider that Congress attached to a must-pass budget bill in April. It marked the first time that an animal or plant has been removed from the endangered species list by Congress.

The rider required the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove federal protections for wolves in Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon and Washington, and northern Utah. While wolf numbers are strong in Idaho and Montana, state wolf plans call for drastic reductions in wolf populations, and wolves in Washington and Oregon have only just begun to recover. At Tuesday's hearing before a federal judge, senior Center attorney Amy Atwood argued that Congress overstepped its bounds in deciding the fate of wolves in those states. That's a decision best left to scientists, not politicians. The judge could issue his ruling as early as next week, and we'll keep you updated on the Center's next action.

Get more and watch a video on the hearing with the Center’s Noah Greenwald on NBCMontana.com-then read this piece in The Missoulian

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Anti-wolf Politicians Want to Strip Protections, Stop Challenges

Meanwhile, wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes are a step closer to losing protection. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted in support of an amendment that blocks the public from enforcing the Endangered Species Act's established provisions for wolves in those two areas. This anti-environmental rider has been added to the Interior Department's pending appropriation bill in Congress.

State agencies have proposed aggressive hunting plans that will reduce wolf populations once they're taken off the endangered species list. Legal challenges by the Center for Biological Diversity and others to illegal delisting by the Department of the Interior have been successful in the past; that's why anti-wolf politicians in Congress are trying to shut down any kind of judicial review or challenge of delisting decisions. This kind of provision sets a dangerous precedent by excluding citizens from one of the most important avenues to challenge decisions that violate the law and endanger species already struggling to survive.

Find out more about our national efforts to protect gray wolves

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