Groups Appeal Ruling on Wolf Reintroduction's
12/29/97
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Headline: Groups Appeal Ruling on Wolf Reintroduction's
Source: Reuters
Date: 12/29/97
Copyright: 1997 Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two environmental groups Monday
appealed a Dec. 12 ruling by a federal judge who said a
controversial program to reintroduce wolves to the Rocky
Mountain region was illegal.
Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Federation
filed an appeal with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver
and said they were bracing themselves for what could be a long
legal battle about reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone National
Park and in central Idaho.
U.S. District Court Judge William Downes earlier this month
said that under the U.S. Endangered Species Act the government
was wrong to have experimentally introduced the wolves to an
area where the animal was already found three years ago, siding
with the ranchers who brought the case.
But the judge, expecting an appeal, issued a stay of his own
order, delaying the removal of more than 150 reintroduced gray
wolves and their offspring.
``No matter what the cost or effort, we stand ready to
protect the legal right of all Americans to enjoy the splendor
of wolves in our nation's oldest national park,'' said Defenders
of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen.
``We will fight all the way to the Supreme Court if
necessary and we will win,'' he said.
The Department of Interior is also expected to appeal the
decision.
Gray wolves arrived at Yellowstone from Canada in January
1995. The wolves had not been seen in the area for more than 60
years and it was two months before they even ventured outside
their acclimation pens in the park.
Ranchers, fearing the predator species would attack
livestock, went to court to stop the program.
Supporters of the program point to its popularity with
tourists and the success the wolves have had in procreating.
They warn that if the judge's decision is upheld the federal
government will have to kill the animals because recapturing the
packs would be almost impossible.
Yellowstone this year celebrated its 125th anniversary.
While the wolves are not visible like the bison or elk, visitors
to the park are interested to know how they are doing and pepper
park rangers with questions about the shy animal.
NWF President Mark Van Putten said the judge's decision
hinged on the designation of the wolves as ``experimental
populations,'' which was chosen to give federal managers more
flexibility in dealing with the animals.
The judge said this legal mechanism should not have been
used.
``We will not let a legal technicality destroy one of
conservation's greatest victories,'' Van Putten said.
Minneapolis attorney Brian O'Neill, who served as the
plaintiffs' lead counsel in the successful civil suit against
Exxon Corp for the 1989 Valdex oil spill, will handle the case
for the environmental groups.