Six conservation organizations have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and their directors, challenging a decision that denies Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains. This action, taken on July 2 in the U.S. District Court in Missoula, Montana, follows a February ruling by the Fish and Wildlife Service, which determined that wolves are not at risk of extinction, despite state-managed hunting practices. The conservation groups argue that the decision violates the Endangered Species Act by not adequately assessing the threats to wolves and ignoring the best available science.
The lawsuit criticizes state wolf management programs, highlighting that Montana and Idaho plan significant reductions in wolf populations, and Wyoming permits various methods of killing wolves outside a designated hunting zone. The suit also draws attention to a specific incident in Wyoming where a man killed a wolf in a particularly brutal manner, receiving only a minimal fine. The Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed by organizations including Animal Wellness Action, the Center for a Humane Economy, Project Coyote, the Kettle Range Conservation Group, Footloose Montana, and the Gallatin Wildlife Association.
Wolves in the northern U.S. Rockies have had intermittent endangered species protection since their initial delisting in 2008, with populations successfully reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park and Idaho during the mid-1990s. Since 2017, wolves have remained off the federal endangered species list in this region, allowing state-run wolf hunts to continue in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The February decision upheld this status, permitting ongoing state management practices. An estimated 2,800 wolves currently inhabit these states, as well as parts of California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. Concurrently, the Fish and Wildlife Service is developing a national recovery plan for wolves, expected to be completed by December 2025.
