News Release. October 1, 2003
Contact Brad DeVries, Defenders of Wildlife
202-772-0237

WOLF BACKERS GO TO COURT TO KEEP WOLF RECOVERY ON TRACK
Suit Challenges Plan to Strip Wolves of All Federal Legal Protection
in U.S.

WASHINGTON – Seventeen conservation and wildlife protection
groups today filed suit in U.S. District Court to challenge a federal
decision lowering the status of  the gray wolf from endangered to
threatened in the lower-48 states and begin handing over species
management to state governments, at least one of which has called for
extermination of the species.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
new regulation would also eliminate any realistic chance of wolves in
the northern Rocky Mountains and Lake States expanding their ranges
beyond the current limited recovery areas, and undoubtedly undermine
the gains that have been made toward restoring the species.

"Wolves in a few places have rebounded in the seven years since
they were returned to Yellowstone and Idaho, but the federal
government is abandoning the wolf  before the species recovery is
complete," said Brian O'Neill, attorney to the groups involved in
Defenders of Wildlife et al. v. Norton.  "It hardly seems
appropriate to hand the wolf over to state legislatures, which seem to be
tripping over one another to write increasingly inflammatory anti-
wolf rules."

The suit points out several legal deficiencies in the final gray wolf
rule from the USFWS.  

•      USFWS  is declaring wolves "recovered" across vast stretches
of the species' historic range, despite having made no progress
whatever toward recovering the species in these areas, for example,
California, Colorado, New York, Maine, Oregon, Washington).
•      Designations of Distinct Population Segments (DPS) for the
wolf were not created based on science or to promote wolf recovery,
but, rather, were developed simply to clear the way for the Service
to move as quickly as possible to the elimination of all ESA
protections for wolves in the lower-48 United States.

O'Neill noted that most state governments in the Northern Rockies
and Great Lakes regions, which will ultimately take management
authority for wolves within their borders, remain stridently opposed
to wolves.  Six states have drafted management plans, all of which
call for the liberal use of lethal control of "problem" wolves, as
well as permitting sport hunting of the species. Some will even allow
trapping of wolves.

•      In 2002, the Idaho legislature passed a resolution calling
for the removal of wolves from the state "by any means
necessary."  
•      Wyoming has proposed to manage the species by declaring that
wolves should be shot on sight as "varmints" anywhere in the
state other than National Park lands.  
•      In the Great Lakes the arsenal against wolves includes a
bounty and shoot on sight in Minnesota and aerial gunning in
Wisconsin.

"Instead of science, they're letting politics and hysteria set policy for
wolf recovery," said O'Neill.  "That's not how the law works.  The
bottom line is that the Fish and Wildlife Service is obligated to
restore ecologically significant wolf populations, not just token populations."

Parties to the suit are: Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, American
Lands Alliance, Animal Protection Institute, Center for Biological
Diversity, Forest Watch, Hells Canyon Preservation Council, Help Our
Wolves Live ("HOWL"), The Humane Society of the United
States, Klamath Forest Alliance, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center,
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility ("PEER"),
Minnesota Wolf Alliance, Oregon Natural Resources Council, RESTORE:
The North Woods, Sinapu, and the Wildlands Project.

Quotes from plaintiffs:

Defenders of Wildlife
"Even though poll after poll shows that the citizens of Idaho,
Wyoming, and other states with wolves want this important species
protected, many of these state governments are in the grip of anti-
wolf hysteria.  Rather than working for a consensus that helps
wolves, ranchers and citizens, Secretary Norton can't wait to
hand off wolf management to those who would kill them instead,"
said
Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife
                    *********************

Sierra Club
"The Bush Administration has time and time again sought to retreat
from America's longstanding commitment to be good stewards of its
fish and wildlife resources. The Administration's plans for the wolf
are right in line with its agenda that devalues the nation's natural
heritage," said Bart Semcer, Sierra Club's fish and wildlife policy
specialist.
                    *********************

Animal Protection Institute
"Just when wolves are starting to make a comeback, the Bush
Administration plans to remove the very protections that helped save
them from extinction" said Nicole Paquette, API's Director of Legal
and Government Affairs.
                    *********************

Center for Biological Diversity
"The government gerrymandered the Mexican wolf's historic range
in order to lower the bar for recovery.  We're not going to let them
get away with writing off the lobo," said Michael J. Robinson,
coordinator, Carnivore Conservation Campaign, Center for Biological
Diversity
                    *********************
Forest Watch (Montpelier, VT)
"Apparently, the Fish and Wildlife Service has decided that
wolves in Minnesota constitute wolf recovery in northern New England
and New York.  Not only do they need to do better science, they need
to learn some basic geography," said Mollie Matteson, education
and outreach director for Forest Watch.
                    *********************

Hells Canyon Preservation Council (La Grande, OR)
"We remain committed to a responsible Oregon wolf plan that addresses
recovery and livestock plus hunting concerns.  But this plan does not
yet exist and the State's budget woes are also evident.  Until an
Oregon plan exists that ensures recovery and money for responsible
management, it is irresponsible for the federal government to fast-
track the dumping of its wolf obligations in Oregon, which is what
FWS ultimately will do," said Brett Brownscombe, conservation
director for Hells Canyon Preservation Council.
                    *********************

Help Our Wolves Live (HOWL)
"Wolf populations are just at the threshold of rebounding in many
areas across the US.   There are many factors to consider, prey base,
disease, the elements, and adequate habitat.  All of which could
adversely effect these new and older wolf populations from year to
year.  The 4D rule change could very well take the wolf back to the
old days – the days of bounties, aerial gunning, and trapping
–  before the ESA," said Linda Hatfield with Help Our Wolves
Live
(HOWL).
                    *********************

The Humane Society of the United States
"Downlisting the gray wolf to threatened is premature,"
stated Dr. John W. Grandy, senior vice president of wildlife programs
at The Humane Society of the United States.  "Habitat loss, over-
exploitation through sport hunting and trapping, and a long history
of government-subsidized lethal control imperiled the wolf.  The same
threats exist today, and it is clear that the states will use any
reduction in federal protection to resume the same lethal activities
that once jeopardized the very existence of the gray wolf."
                    *********************

Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (Ashland, OR)
"The Fish and Wildlife Service's plans would effectively slam the
door to any future wolf recovery in Oregon and California," said
Joseph Vaile a biologist with the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
in Ashland, Oregon. "We want to make sure the wolf has a chance to
come back to the places where there is still adequate habitat and
where it would play a crucial role in wilderness ecosystems."
                    *********************

RESTORE: The North Woods
"There was hope for wolf recovery in the Northeast until the Bush
Administration came along," said Kristin DeBoer, program director for
RESTORE: The North Woods. "Scientific studies show that the north
woods of Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont could provide
habitat for more than 2,000 wolves, but the Administration's wolf
policy conveniently ignores this fact. The USFWS must honor their
obligation to restore the wolf to the Northeast not only because it
is the legal thing to do, but because it CAN be done."
                    *********************

Sinapu
"We're not happy about going to court, but we must.  The
government's wolf plan is a smoke-and-mirrors exercise in
tokenism," said Rob Edward of Sinapu, a Colorado-based group working
on behalf of wolves and wilderness.
                    *********************

Wildlands Project
"This is really a matter of integrity—both ecological and
political," says Leanne Klyza Linck, executive director of the
Wildlands Project. "Despite their critical role in nature and strong
public support for their recovery, wolves are yet another endangered
species falling prey to unjust politics. The Fish and Wildlife
Service needs to make an honest commitment to restoring ecologically
meaningful wolf populations across their native range—not abandon
all responsibility with only a few token, geographically isolated
populations wandering the landscape."