In October, a federal court in D.C. returned Wyoming’s wolves to the endangered species list. The court rejected the delisting of Wyoming’s wolves based on the fact that Wyoming’s commitment to manage wolves above minimum population levels was not part of a legally binding regulation or statute. Considering Wyoming’s plans to be merely “voluntary,” and therefore not sufficient to meet Endangered Species Act delisting requirements, the court sent the delisting decision back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

Wyoming attempted to prevent the return of its wolves to endangered status by promptly addressing the court’s concerns and immediately adopting the population commitment as a state regulation. The FWS, Wyoming, and SCI, together with the NRA and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), all filed motions with the court, asking that the ruling be amended to recognize Wyoming’s efforts. The court denied all motions, insisting that the FWS initiate a new delisting process. Read more

A D.C. federal district court judge has returned the wolves of the Western Great Lakes (WGL) to the endangered species list.  This was the fourth time that a delisting of the WGL wolves has been overturned in court.  In a 111 page opinion, the judge ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) violated the Endangered Species Act by illegally creating the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment of wolves.  The court decided that the FWS lacks authority to delist anything less than what they originally listed.  Since the FWS had originally listed gray wolves throughout the lower 48 states, the court held that the FWS lacked the authority to delist any population segment smaller than the species as a whole.  The court rejected the argument that the wolves of Minnesota, which the FWS had designated as “threatened” in 1978, qualified as a DPS that the FWS could later delist.

The court also had problems with many other aspects of the delisting rule.  The court found the FWS’s explanation of certain issues lacking, such as the significance of the wolves’ absence from areas of their historic range, the absence of regulatory protections of wolves in many of the states – those other than Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota — that had been included in the DPS, and the existence of risks to the wolves from multiple sources of mortality.

The court rejected arguments submitted by the FWS, the states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as SCI’s intervenor group (also including the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, the National Rifle Association, the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association, the Upper Peninsula Bear Houndsmen Association, the Michigan Hunting Dog Federation, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation) that recommended that the judge not invalidate the delisting rule and instead simply remand the rule to the FWS for further correction and explanation.  The judge was unconvinced that the relisting would cause disruption in the management of the species.  The judge chose instead to vacate the delisting rule and restored the wolves to federal protection.

SCI’s Litigation Team is studying this ruling and in the next few days will be analyzing its impact, not only on the future of WGL wolves, but also on other species potentially poised to be delisted.  SCI will also be consulting with attorneys for the FWS, states and other defendant-intervenors to discuss a potential appeal of this ruling.

Ruling suspends Michigan’s lethal control laws and permits

A federal court judge has ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to immediately return wolves in the Great Lakes region to the federal endangered species list, making it illegal for Michigan citizens to kill wolves attacking livestock or dogs.

Under endangered species status, wolves may be killed only in the immediate defense of human life.

Two state laws allowing livestock or dog owners to kill wolves in the act of depredation are suspended by the ruling.

Additionally, lethal control permits previously issued by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to livestock farmers to address ongoing conflicts with wolves are no longer valid; permit holders have been contacted regarding this change.

The return to federal endangered species status also means DNR wildlife and law enforcement officials no longer have the authority to use lethal control methods to manage wolf conflict.

However, non-lethal methods – such as flagging, fencing, flashing lights and guard animals – may still be used and are encouraged. Compensation for livestock lost to wolves continues to be available through the DNR and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Citizens in need of assistance with problem wolves should contact their local DNR wildlife biologist or DNR wolf program coordinator Kevin Swanson at 906-228-6561.

Friday’s federal court order came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to remove wolves in the Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment from the federal endangered species list in January 2012. The ruling affects wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“The federal court decision is surprising and disappointing,” said Russ Mason, DNR Wildlife Division Chief. “Wolves in Michigan have exceeded recovery goals for 15 years and have no business being on the endangered species list, which is designed to help fragile populations recover – not to halt the use of effective wildlife management techniques.”

The DNR will work closely with the Michigan Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the full impact of this ruling on the state’s wolf management program and identify next steps.

“In the meantime, the Wildlife Division will continue updating the state’s wolf management plan, which includes the use of hunting and other forms of lethal control to minimize conflict with wolves,” Mason said. “Although the federal court’s ruling prevents the use of these management tools for the time-being, the Department will be prepared for any future changes that would return wolves to state management authority.”

For more information about Michigan’s wolf population and management plan, visit www.michigan.gov/wolves.

Washington – Special to The Outdoor Wire – With New Jersey’s weeklong black bear hunting season now under way, Safari Club International (SCI) again thanks the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for continuing with the hunt, despite incessant cries from anti-hunting zealots for its cancellation. For several years, SCI has fought successfully in court to protect the annual bear hunt, defeating the anti-hunting groups repeatedly.

Black bears are the largest land mammal in New Jersey. As the NJDEP has found, they are an integral part of the state’s natural heritage and a vital component of healthy ecosystems. However, for NJDEP to properly manage New Jersey’s ecosystems, they need to manage the number of black bears at a sustainable population in the northwest region of the state.

Controlling black bear numbers improves public safety by reducing the number of bear encounters with humans. The citizens of New Jersey this year became keenly attuned to the need to intensify such management when a college student hiking in a nature preserve was fatally mauled by a black bear in September. Read more

The deceptively named Humane Society of the United States only spends 1% of its budget on grants to help local organizations care for pets. But HSUS can afford to send $26 million—the equivalent of 20% of its budget—to offshore hedge funds. It’s a case of putting tax shelters ahead of pet shelters, and it comes on top of the $25.7 million HSUS put into the Caribbean in 2012. In 2013, HSUS reports that it sent $26 million to the Caribbean and Central America. Where exactly did that money go? A supplemental document tells us: Read more