Friday, September 11, 2009

Federal judge sustains wolf hunt

Some environmentalists say ruling is a win


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

Wolf hunting in the greater Wood River Valley is set to begin Oct. 1.

After nearly two weeks of deliberation, a federal judge in Missoula, Mont., has ruled that wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana can continue.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy ruled in favor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to remove wolves from the federal endangered species list. The move was opposed in court by Earthjustice, a law firm representing numerous conservation groups looking to restore the protections of the Endangered Species Act to wolves in the northern Rockies.

Both parties presented their sides of the issue to Molloy on Aug. 31.

The Idaho hunt, which began in parts of the state Sept. 1, allows up to 220 wolves to be legally killed by hunters and another 35 to be taken by the Nez Perce Tribe. Seventy-five wolves can be legally shot in Montana, where the wolf season opens Sept. 15.

The dates of the wolf hunt in Idaho vary among 12 "wolf zones," with the zone including the Wood River Valley—home range of the Phantom Hill pack—open from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31.

According to a report from The Associated Press, Molloy ruled that the plans to kill about 20 percent of the estimated 1,350 wolves in the two states would not cause long-term harm to the wolf population.

The decision was well-received by a number of state officials, including Sen. Jim Risch and Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter.

"Judge Molloy did the right thing," Otter stated in a press release. "Idaho has met and exceeded the criteria agreed upon by all parties for recovery. We have a plan in place for managing wolves, based on the best science available, and we intend to keep our promises outlined in that plan."

While he denied an immediate injunction to halt the hunt, Molloy did leave some hope for those involved in the ongoing lawsuit to relist the wolves. In his ruling, Molloy stated that the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to allow a wolf hunt in Wyoming might violate the Endangered Species Act because it was based on political boundaries.

"The [U.S. Fish and Wildlife] Service has distinguished a natural population of wolves based on a political line, not the best available science," Molloy wrote in his decision. "That, by definition, seems arbitrary and capricious."

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Matt Skoglund, an advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the conservation groups opposing the delisting of wolves in court, said that while he is disappointed that the hunt will continue, he's optimistic that the lawsuit will be successful based on Molloy's words about a possible breach of the Endangered Species Act.

Skoglund said species can't be delisted on a state-by-state basis, and therefore allowing a hunt in Idaho and Montana, and not in Wyoming, is illegal and could lead to the wolves' being listed once again.

"In the big picture, this is a win," said Louisa Wilcox, spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We feel good about the judge's analysis of the merits of our case. We need a national wolf recovery plan and this piecemeal effort just won't get us there."

Skoglund said a schedule has yet to be set for further proceedings in the lawsuit.

After three wolves were shot in Idaho on the first day of the hunt, no shootings have occurred other than the illegal killing of one wolf in the McCall-Weiser wolf zone on Sunday. Hunting in the zone opens Oct. 1. Fish and Game Enforcement Chief Jon Heggen said the dead wolf, a young female, will come out of the zone's 15-wolf quota.

He said two citations were issued to a man from Eagle on Tuesday—one for shooting a wolf in a closed season and another for shooting from a public road.

Heggen said witnesses reported that the man shot the wolf while standing in the road near the back of his pickup truck. He said the man did call the 24-hour wolf harvest reporting line Tuesday morning and checked in later that day with Fish and Game in Nampa, where he told officers he thought he was in the neighboring Sawtooth zone when he shot the wolf.

Conservation officers seized the wolf hide and skull, along with the man's rifle, camera and wolf tag.

Heggen said that if convicted, the offender could face up to a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail for each citation. In addition, he would face a $200 civil penalty and lose his license for hunting, fishing and trapping for one to three years.

Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com




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