This July 16, 2004 file photo shows a gray wolf at the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, Minn.
BOISE (AP) | An Idaho
conservation group has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to force
a federal agency to turn over information about its methods and
activities in killing wildlife in the state.
The Western Watersheds Project filed the 18-page lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services.
The
lawsuit contends the federal agency is violating the Freedom of
Information Act by not supplying information the group asked for in five
formal requests in February and March. "We're seeking
more detailed information on how they operate," said Talasi Brooks, an
attorney at Advocates for the West representing the Idaho group.
"They're not very forthcoming on that."
In a separate
lawsuit filed in February, the Western Watersheds Project and four other
groups sued Wildlife Services contending federal and Idaho officials
are violating environmental laws by killing wolves, coyotes and other
wildlife to protect livestock and crops. The lawsuit filed Monday is distinct from the one filed in February, Brooks said.
The U.S. Department of Justice didn't return a call from The Associated Press on Monday.
Among
the information sought in the most recent lawsuit involves Wildlife
Services' Pocatello Supply Depot. The Western Watersheds Project wants
to find out if animal poison is being produced there or if devices to
kill predators are simply being assembled there, Brooks said. "I
am very curious about the Pocatello Supply Depot," Brooks said. "I want
to know what they do, what they're making there. Whether it's at cost,
or whether it's a taxpayer-subsidy operation."
Other
information sought in the lawsuit incudes permits that Wildlife Services
operates under in Idaho and equipment Wildlife Services owns or leases
for animal damage control in the state.
The lawsuit also
seeks information about specific wildlife management activities and
details concerning cooperative agreements Wildlife Services has with
other entities in the state.
The Western Watersheds Project plans to make the information public, Brooks said.
