The legal fight to keep the Northern Rockies' wolf population under state management will shift to a courtroom in Missoula, Montana, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit hosts a hearing on Oct. 13.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation along with litigation partners at Safari Club International and the Sportsmen's Alliance will make oral arguments in support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) decision to deny claims by animal rights and anti-hunting extremists to relist wolves.
“We have stated from the beginning, and population counts bear it out, that wolves are well above benchmark recovery levels across the Northern Rockies and continue to increase and expand their occupied range while under state management,” said Blake Henning, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation chief conservation officer. “As such, they do not warrant Endangered Species Act (ESA) considerations.”
In 2011, congress reinstated a USFWS delisting rule and prohibited judicial review of that rule, but litigant environmental organizations continue to file actions. USFWS denied their relisting petitions in 2024, but a federal judge cited technicalities and overturned the decision. RMEF, as an organization committed to scientific wildlife conservation, filed an immediate appeal maintaining resources should go toward proven, state-based wildlife management and not endless court battles.
The October wolf hearing is the latest for RMEF dating back several decades.
The Northern Rockies wolf population covers Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and parts of Oregon, Washington and Utah.
RMEF has always maintained that state wildlife agencies should sustainably manage wolves just as they manage elk, mountain lions, deer, black bears and other wildlife in line with the North American Wildlife Conservation Model.
The court will hear oral arguments from 14 cases during its three-day stay at the federal courthouse in Missoula, including two others involving wolves. One of them is about a recent rule to remove federal protections for gray wolves while the other focuses on federal rules for the experimental population of Mexican wolves.
Hunt 2 Conserve advocates for state-based wildlife management, including predator management, and will be in attendance.
About Hunt 2 Conserve
Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.
