State Ready To Defend Wolf Plan

Earthjustice will represent Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club in a lawsuit opposing the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to de-list wolves in Wyoming later this month. The groups maintain Wyoming’s management plan may not meet Endangered Species Act requirements for adequate regulatory mechanisms to maintain species once they’re de-listed.  Visiting Jackson Thursday, Governor Matt Mead said he was not surprised by the lawsuits.  Mead says it is a bit frustrating after the hard work the state has done on the plan, bringing in a lot of experts to participate in the discussion.  Furthermore he says, “Secretary Salazar and the director of wildlife service Dan Ashe have both signed off on it numerous of times after it has been peer-reviewed by five well-known experts in the country twice; and four out of the five said it’s a do-able plan.”  Mead says the predator status in a majority of the state is a sticking point for the groups, but he points out that a vast majority of the state has a very small percentage of the wolf population.  He says some say the state could avoid the lawsuits if it would drop the predator zone, but he points out that Idaho and Montana don’t have such a classification and they continue to face lawsuits as well.  Mead says once the state sees the lawsuit being filed, it will respond.