Defenders' Experts
Northern Rockies Gray Wolf- Delisting Challenge 2009
Date Filed: 09/09/2009
Case Status: Active
Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar
Case Background:
Challenge against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's April 2009 decision to delist the northern Rockies wolf population, thus removing their protections under the Endangered Species Act and relinquishing management to the states of Idaho and Montana. Defenders urged Interior Secretary Ken Salazar not to finalize the Bush administration rule, but the rule was finalized on April 2, 2009. Defenders sent a 60 Day Notice Letter of Intent to Sue the day the decision was published in the Federal Register.
On June 2, 2009, Defenders and 12 other conservation organizations filed a lawsuit against the Fish & Wildlife Service challenging the removal of federal protections for northern Rockies wolves. Under this rule, two-thirds of the current wolf population could be killed by Idaho and Montana before FWS would restore protections. As a keystone species of the Northern Rockies, a robust population of gray wolves is essential to maintain the health of the greater ecosystem. For this population to be left without protections just as it has begun to flourish could negate decades of recovery efforts.
Related Documents:
- Schlickeisen letter to Secretary Salazar (2/10/2009)
- Conservation organization Presidents' letter to Secretary Salazar (3/4/2009)
- Defenders FOIA Request (3/9/2009)
- Letter of Intent to Sue (4/2/2009)
- Complaint (6/2/2009)
- Preliminary Injunction (9/8/09)
Press Releases
- Same bad plan to delist wolves in the Northern Rockies (3/6/2009)
- FOIA request seeks evidence of proper review of wolf delisting decision (3/9/2009)
- Wolves back in the crosshairs after Salazar decision to remove federal protection in the Northern Rockies (4/1/2009)
- Wolves once again in the crosshairs (5/4/2009)
- Lawsuit last hope for long-term wolf recovery in Northern Rockies (6/2/2009)
- Wolf hunt will continue while court hears lawsuit (9/9/09)
Co-filers:
Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, The Humane Society of the United States, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Friends of the Clearwater, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands Project, Western Watersheds Project, Wildlands Project
