Appeals Court Allows Wolf Hunts

A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit from conservation groups that want to block wolf hunts that have killed more than 500 of the predators across the Northern Rockies in recent months.

Wednesday’s ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says Congress had the right to intervene when it stripped protections from wolves last spring.

Lawmakers stepped in after court rulings kept wolves on the endangered list for years after they reached recovery goals.

“I?m pleased to see the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals uphold my wolf delisting language,” said U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, in a statement Wednesday. “This case has made it clear that those who persist in trying to manage wildlife through the courts, in spite of all scientific evidence that this species has recovered, no longer have a defensible position. Now that this case is settled, the state can continue to move forward in implementing a long-term solution to wolf management that serves the best interests of Idahoans and those whose true goal is a sustainable wolf population in the Rocky Mountain West.”

Michael Robinson with the Center for Biological Diversity said a Supreme Court appeal was possible, but no decision had been made.

The number of wolves in the region grew slightly last year. There are at least 1,774 in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and portions of eastern Oregon and Washington.

Wolf hunting is allowed in Montana and Idaho, and it could resume in Wyoming this fall.

Idaho also allows trapping.