Defenders' Experts
Northern Rockies Gray Wolf- Management Challenge
Date Filed: 01/28/2008
Case Status: Active
Defenders of Wildlife v. Kempthorne - Defenders Challenges 10(j) Rule for Management
Case Background:
On January 28, 2008, Defenders of Wildlife filed a complaint in Federal District Court in Montana in response to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s release of an updated regulation for the management of gray wolves in the northern Rockies (called the 10(j) rule after the section of the Endangered Species Act under which it is issued). The rule, issued on January 24, significantly reduces the protections for gray wolves in this region despite their current listing as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish & Wildlife Service claims the rule is necessary to allow states to kill wolves to protect game populations. In reality the ungulate populations that the wolves depend on (including elk and deer) are near record highs.
The complaint argues that under the rule, more than 900 wolves—over half of the population—could be unjustifiably killed. The restoration of the gray wolf in the northern Rockies is an Endangered Species Act success story, but wolf populations have only recently approached levels high enough that the Fish & Wildlife Service has proposed to delist them under the Endangered Species Act. This rule change could dramatically reduce wolf populations and set back recovery efforts in the region.
Defenders argues that changes in the 10(j) rule violate the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to properly assess whether the removal of protections required for long term wolf population viability will negatively impact the species and the surrounding Northern Rockies environment. Defenders is calling for the Fish & Wildlife Service’s inadequate Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact to be set aside and for the court to enjoin the Fish & Wildlife Service from authorizing any killing of gray wolves pursuant to the revised 10(j) rule, pending its compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. In addition, Defenders filed a 60-day notice with the Fish & Wildlife Service alleging further violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Related documents:
Rule from Federal RegisterCoalition Press Release
60 Day Notice Letter
Complaint
Co-filers:
Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, The Humane Society of the United States, Center for Biological Diversity, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Friends of the Clearwater
