Federal court tosses Idaho wolf ruling, Decision says groups have standing to bring lawsuit

[Beringia]

https://lmtribune.com/northwest/federal-court-tosses-idaho-wolf-ruling/article_a913a572-251f-542e-b757-2ed5e1f96067.html?fbclid=IwAR2BdrKLcjoph9x83Hl7RdrvL29lpxxRW2gxzCFluO88QuwC_51FPgAJbsU




BOISE — A federal appeals court has overturned a U.S. District Court’s dismissal of a lawsuit by environmental groups challenging a federal agency’s killing of wolves in Idaho.

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday ruled that U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge erred in January 2018 when he ruled in favor of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services.

Specifically, the appeals panel ruled that the environmental groups have standing to bring the lawsuit, and sent the case back to the District Court.

The environmental groups contend Wildlife Services’ 2011 study allowing it to kill wolves in the state is flawed because it relies on outdated information. The groups say the Agriculture Department is violating environmental laws by killing wolves without a new environmental analysis.

“With the new decision, we can return to the heart of the matter: whether or not Wildlife Services adequately reviewed the ecological consequences of killing scores of wolves each year in Idaho,” Talasi Brooks, an attorney with Western Watersheds Project, said in a statement.

The U.S Justice Department, which defends federal agencies in lawsuits, declined to comment Wednesday.

Lodge in his ruling said that even if Wildlife Services stopped killing wolves in Idaho, it wouldn’t matter because the Idaho Department of Fish and Game manages wolves in the state and has demonstrated it can kill wolves, hire third parties to kill wolves, or increase hunting and trapping for wolves. He said that meant the environmental groups lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.

The appeals court panel rejected that ruling. The court concluded that it’s possible if not likely that not as many wolves would be killed in Idaho if Wildlife Services stopped killing wolves because the Idaho Department of Fish and Game hadn’t demonstrated significant ability in that area.