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 n an emergency reprieve for one of our nation's most treasured wildlife icons, a U.S. district court judge has stopped the mass killing of wolves in the northern Rockies by granting a preliminary injunction that restores their federal protection. NRDC, Earthjustice and 11 other groups had requested the injunction in order to halt the senseless slaughter of wolves that ensued after the Bush Administration stripped them of endangered species protection in March. The administration's action has been reversed by the court until the full case can be heard and decided. "The federal court just threw a badly needed lifeline to wolves in the northern Rockies," said NRDC Senior Wildlife Advocate Louisa Willcox. "Now they have a fighting chance." In the months leading up to the ruling, more than 110 wolves were killed in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming -- about one per day since protections were removed.
Calling the Bush Administration's arguments "disingenuous," Judge Donald Molloy said that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had "acted arbitrarily" in taking wolves off the endangered species list and turning their management over to the states. The agency's hasty action would likely "eliminate any chance" for interbreeding to occur between the region's wolf populations, thereby jeopardizing their long-term recovery. As a result of our courtroom victory, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho will be forced to abandon plans to allow the extermination of hundreds of wolves this fall as part of a massive public hunt -- the first in more than three decades. "Yellowstone's wolves are much safer today than they were just days ago," said Willcox. "But our fight is far from over." Judge Molloy's injunction is temporary. NRDC and our partners must now go back to court and win a final ruling that will help ensure the long-term survival of wolves in the northern Rockies.
Meanwhile, NRDC interns stationed this summer at an information booth inside Yellowstone National Park collected more than 200 signatures per day from visitors who were eager to show their support for a long-term wolf recovery plan that should be pursued by the next presidential administration. Tourists from around the country and the world viewed our display and were horrified to learn that, prior to Judge Molloy's ruling, the very wolves they had traveled hundreds and thousands of miles to see were being gunned down just outside the park.
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“The federal court just threw a badly needed lifeline to wolves in the northern Rockies. Now they have a fighting chance.”
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