Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

MISSOULA - Conservation groups want to reverse a Congressional decision to take gray wolves in the Northern Rockies off the Endangered Species List and are hoping Judge Donald Molloy will side with their arguments.

After the latest round of court battles over delisting the wolves last spring, Congress took over, adding an amendment to a federal appropriations bill that ordered protection for the wolves should come to an end. That happened a few weeks later, clearing the way for wildlife managers in Montana and Idaho to begin planning for new wolf hunts this fall. The states argue the hunts are needed to control the growing wolf populations.

But Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater, WildEarth Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity aren't giving up, and will be back in Molloy's court to argue a complaint they filed in May.
The conservation groups argue the Congressional "rider" wasn't an amendment of the Endangered Species Act, but it fact merely reversed Molloy's August 2010 ruling which ordered the Interior Department to re-instate protection for the wolves. That ruling is still being appealed. As such, their attorneys argue Congress was attempting to force the judicial branch to take action violating the Separation of Powers under the Constitution.

But the federal attorneys are either denying the allegations in the complaint, or saying they don't have to respond to the allegations, saying Congress has the right to might changes to laws like the ESA despite pending court cases.

The conservation groups want Molloy to declare the rider unconstitutional and order ESA protection to be reinstated for the wolves in Idaho and Montana.

Arguments for the motion for summary judgment are schedule for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Molloy's Missoula courtroom.