Wyoming sues over denial of wolf plan

By MIKE STARK
Of The Gazette Staff

The state of Wyoming sued the federal government Thursday for rejecting its plan to manage wolves once they're removed from the endangered species list.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne, asks a judge to compel the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to accept Wyoming's plan and immediately begin the process of removing federal protections.

"They essentially rejected the Wyoming wolf plan based on political considerations and a fear of lawsuits that might be filed by environmental groups," Patrick Crank, Wyoming's attorney general, said Thursday afternoon.

The federal government did not heed language in the Endangered Species Act when it rejected Wyoming's plan even though a peer review panel said that the Wyoming plan, in concert with plans in Montana and Idaho, would be adequate for sustaining a viable wolf population in the three states, Crank said.

"They totally ignored the Endangered Species Act which says make (the decision) solely on the best science available," Crank said. "In its purest form, this was a political decision."

Top federal officials, including Interior Secretary Gale Norton, have maintained that they have consistently told Wyoming that the federal government could not accept a key provision in the state plan - one that would classify some wolves as predators and subject to unregulated killing.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Wyoming lawmakers have insisted that some wolves in the state be considered predators, a step they say is crucial to protecting livestock, big game and private property.

Earlier this year, though, FWS Director Steve Williams said the potential for unregulated killing of wolves would be an impediment for ensuring a sustainable wolf population.

Speaking later with lawmakers, Paul Hoffman, a deputy undersecretary at Interior, said the federal government rejected the plan in part because of anticipated lawsuits.

"From a strictly science perspective, yes, the plans were deemed adequate," Hoffman said at the time. "It's the legal considerations that prompt us to say no at this time."

Hoffman said there was also concern that if Wyoming's plan was accepted, Idaho and Montana might want to alter their plans to include predator classifications.

Williams met with Freudenthal earlier this year in Wyoming, and Crank met with Norton in Washington, D.C. Neither side budged.

Predictably, the impasse went to court.

"We really can't comment on litigation beyond anything we've said in the past," Hugh Vickery, an Interior spokeswoman, said Thursday.

The fate of wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains has become one of the most contentious issues in years. With the population above recovery goals, the FWS has said it's time to remove wolves from the endangered species list.

Before that can happen, the federal government has to approve plans by Montana, Idaho and Wyoming to manage a viable population of wolves.

Montana and Idaho have approved plans and are in the early stages of accepting certain management responsibilities for wolves. But federal control will remain until all three states have approved plans.

Wyoming officials said they sued reluctantly.

"I frankly hoped it wouldn't come to this," Freudenthal said in a statement.