A federal judge put wolves once again under the protection of the Endangered Species Act in Wyoming on Tuesday, ruling that the federal Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to a state commitment to maintain the wolf population without enforcing proper safeguards, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The wolf was declared a trophy-game animal by the state's wolf-management plan, allowing seasonal hunting in some areas, and labeled it a predatory animal that could be shot almost anywhere in the state.
United States District Court in Washington Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the wildlife service's decision that the wolf was no longer endangered in much of its range was reasonable. She also noted the wildlife service's judgment that the wolf was not unreasonably threatened by Wyoming's decision to label it a predator, stating that its population numbers were very small or nonexistent in much of the designated area. But she said that the state's management plan fell short and was unenforceable. Berman added that federal officials were "arbitrary and capricious" in accepting the plan.
Her decision requires that wolves remain under federal protection until state authorities devise enforceable protocols to maintain their population numbers.
But many ranchers and sportsmen in Wyoming say that wolves are a threat to game animals and livestock, particularly western moose herds, if their numbers aren't kept under control. The Wyoming Stock Growers Association had entered the Washington, D.C., lawsuit along with other groups to petition for keeping wolf management under state control.
Jim Magagna from the Wyoming Stock Growers Association said that Jackson's ruling could have a large impact on Wyoming farm owners if they're unable to kill wolves that prey on their livestock, ABC News reported.
"Beyond that, it doesn't make any sense," Magagna told ABC News, adding the state has agreed to maintain a minimum wolf population.
