Conservation groups suing to grant wolves in E. Oregon protections
By Joe Hathaway on Tuesday, April 16th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
EASTERN OREGON – Nearly a dozen conservationist groups are suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) to reinstate federal protection for wolves in Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
The lawsuit, submitted to the U.S. District Court for Montana, is in response to the USFW’s February decision to deny a petition requesting that wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains be classified as either endangered or threatened. The agency concluded that wolf populations in those five states were steady and that those states could decide on their own wolf management policies.
The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Humane Society of the United States, and its affiliate, the Humane Society Legislative Fund.
According to the lawsuit, the decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act. The groups contend that the current population and distribution of gray wolves are too limited to justify transferring wolf management responsibilities to the states. The lawsuit asks the court to vacate the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to not federally protect gray wolves in the Rocky Mountain states and Pacific Northwest.
The lawsuit represents another effort by environmental groups to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s position that the wolf population in the Northern Rockies is stable and thriving.
The agency has predicted that, even with potential decreases due to hunting and disease, there would still be nearly 1,000 wolves in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming after 100 years.
Additionally, the USFW expects the wolf population to grow in states like California, Colorado, Western Oregon, and Western Washington, where wolves are still under federal protection.
The recent annual wolf report from the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife shows that Oregon’s wolf population did not grow at all last year. The known population remains at 178 wolves at the end of 2023, just as it was at the end of 2022.
Wolves were reintroduced to Idaho in 1995, with Fish & Wildlife officials initially aiming for a population of 100 wolves. Today, Idaho is home to approximately 1,300 wolves. The State of Idaho now is working to decrease the number of wolves to around 500.
Photo: Frazier Mtn Pack wolves (including a pup born in 2023) caught on a trail camera in June 2023 near their den on private lands in Union County. Courtesy: ODOT
