Federal Judge Orders Review of Wolf Protection Denial

A gray wolf, with its thick coat and watchful eyes, rests in the forest as a Montana judge vacates a federal decision denying Endangered Species Act protections in the West. (Source: Unsplash/Timothy Brown)

A federal judge has vacated a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision denying Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the West, ruling the agency failed to use the best available science.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy issued the ruling Aug. 5, finding the service relied on “numerous unfounded assumptions,” failed to analyze wolves across a significant portion of their range, and did not adequately address weak state and federal rules. The judge sent the matter back to the agency for reconsideration.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project, and other groups filed the lawsuits. Attorneys from the Western Environmental Law Center argued the case, warning that state hunting and trapping programs threaten to roll back decades of wolf recovery.

Matthew Bishop, a senior attorney with the law center, said the ruling showed the Endangered Species Act’s best-available-science standard “won the day.” The Fish and Wildlife Service has 60 days to decide whether it will appeal.

Bishop added, “Wolves have yet to recover across the West. Allowing a few states to push aggressive killing programs violates the law.”