Yellowstone wolves get their day in court

Conservation groups presented almost 200,000 signed petitions in favor of keeping gray wolves in Yellowstone.

July 30, 1999
Web posted at: 3:45 p.m. EDT (1945 GMT)

The case stems from a December 1997 ruling by Wyoming District Court Judge William Downes that the wolf reintroduction program in Yellowstone and central Idaho is illegal and that all wolves in the park must be removed. The American Farm Bureau Federation and others had challenged the legality of the reintroduction program in the lawsuit.

Environmentalists and the Department of the Interior filed a joint appeal in response to Judge Downes' ruling in 1998. The federal Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit is expected to rule on the appeal within the next month. Downes' ruling does not go into effect until the appeals process has been completed.

Arguing at Thursday's hearing that the reintroduction program has been successful and is legal, legitimate and necessary, Brian O'Neill represented the plaintiffs, which include the Defenders of Wildlife, the National Wildlife Federation and its Wyoming and Idaho affiliates, and the National Audubon Society.

Rami, an ambassador wolf that has traveled across the United States to educate the public about wolves and the reintroduction program, courted reporters on the courthouse steps following the argument. The groups also presented almost 200,000 signed petitions in favor of keeping the wolves in Yellowstone.

"Wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone has been the most popular and most environmentally justified endangered species reintroduction effort," said O'Neill who also served as a lead attorney in the Exxon Valdez lawsuit. "Opposition to wolves in Yellowstone has been extremely mean-spirited. However, once the appeals court has reviewed the law and the reintroduction effort, we are confident that it will permit the wolves to stay. They are the capstone to the Yellowstone ecosystem."

The conservation groups maintain that the present legal struggle symbolizes a larger battle over the government's commitment to protect and restore large carnivores.

The American Farm Bureau argued in the initial suit that the wolf introduction program failed to address the concerns of farmers and ranchers, and represented overzealous regulation by the government.

"Let's not let the Farm Bureau ruin a good thing," said Bob Ferris, Species Conservation Director for the Defenders of Wildlife. "The wolves are doing great. They're staying away from livestock except in a few cases where Defenders compensates for any losses. The ecosystem is returning to a more healthy, natural state. Tourism is up and the wolves are adding to the region's economy. Why negate 20-some years of work and lots of money just to start over?"

Sixty-two wolves were released into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995 and 1996 as part of an experimental reintroduction program. If the lower court ruling stands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be charged with physically removing all reintroduced wolves and their offspring from Yellowstone. The problem is that this would not only undermine years of conservation efforts, but it will be difficult to find a new home for the wolves.

Canada will not take the wolves back, there is little room in zoos, and there is no appropriate wild space in the United States that could handle a population of wolves such as the one in Yellowstone.

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