A message from Safari Club International CEO, W. Laird Hamberlin:
Judge Overturns Science-Based Finding, Threatens to Put Western Wolves Back Under the Endangered Species Act
Safari Club International (SCI) has defended science-based decisions to remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) lists for more than twenty years.
But activist courts have blocked SCI’s efforts. And yesterday—yet again—a federal judge in Montana paved the way for thousands of gray wolves in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to be placed back under federal management.
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The court overturned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision not to re-list wolves in the Western U.S. under the ESA. The court ruled that the Service’s decision that these wolves are not a threatened or endangered species was “erroneous.”
The plaintiffs’ arguments and the judge’s decision lack any scientific support. Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are home to more than 2,600 wolves, many times above the wolf recovery threshold of 300 wolves established by the Service in 2009.
The Service has sought to remove wolves from the ESA lists since 2003. But animal rights groups have challenged each delisting decision in court. SCI has been part of fighting every lawsuit but, despite having science and law on our side, activist courts have consistently overturned the Service’s findings.
The legal fight continues. Today, SCI and our partners at Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation appealed the Montana judge’s flawed decision. On appeal, we will demonstrate that the judge misinterpreted the law and substituted his personal views in place of the science.
We need your support to keep fighting. SCI has been involved in wolf lawsuits since 2003. It is expensive and time-consuming. And this case involves three separate lawsuits and twenty total plaintiffs.
Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the SCI Center for Conservation Law and Education to defend against this attack on science-based wildlife management. SCI’s not-for-profit legal defense fund was recently created to sustain our legal efforts. The Center’s mission is to promote hunting and sustainable-use wildlife conservation in the courts and through public education. The Center ensures that no anti-hunting lawsuit goes unchallenged, and that activist judges are checked through legal processes. Your donation helps us sustain our efforts and keep the legal battle going.
Our promise is to defend sustainable use wildlife conservation, support science-based management, and be First for Hunters. We hope you will join us with a donation of $10, $25, or $50. Together, we will keep these wolves off the ESA lists and under state management, where they belong.
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