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News Story - Environmentalists pick Oregon as battleground for wolf
lawsuit http://www.enn.com/news/2003-10-02/s_9030.asp Environmentalists pick Oregon as battleground for wolf lawsuit Thursday, October 02, 2003 By Associated Press GRANTS PASS — Environmental groups filed suit Wednesday challenging the federal government's decision to downgrade protection for the gray wolf, a predator being restored in parts of the United States. The federal lawsuit claims the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act in April, when it changed the gray wolf from an endangered to a threatened species, loosening restrictions on killing the animal to protect livestock. Environmentalists said they sued in Oregon in part because wolves introduced in Idaho have migrated into that state, though there have been no confirmed sightings since 2001. "Wolves are coming into Oregon on their own," said Anne Mahle, a Minneapolis attorney handling the lawsuit. "The issue is once they get there, they need the full protection of the Endangered Species Act." Environmentalists are afraid that the current federal policy means wolves won't be restored throughout their historic range in the Pacific Northwest, the southern Rockies and the Northeast, said Nina Fascione of Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, D.C. About 3,500 of the 4,000 wolves in the lower 48 states are in the Great Lakes region. The lawsuit alleges that Fish and Wildlife's decision ignored the fact that several states within the wolf's historic range still don't have any wolves. Fish and Wildlife spokesman Nicholas Throckmorton said the agency had not seen the Oregon lawsuit, and had no immediate comment. The agency cited the success of restoring wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park and Idaho when it downgraded the species' protection. Bill Drewien, a Medford rancher who is chairman of the endangered species committee for the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, said losses from wolves "can be devastating to a small cow operator." Source: Associated Press +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml |