February 1, 2005
Contacts: William Lutz 202-772-0269 . Deborah Bagocius (202) 772-0239
Defenders of Wildlife
COURT SAYS "NO" TO BUSH'S ATTEMPT TO PREMATURELY REMOVE FEDERAL PROTECTION FOR GRAY WOLVES
Court Says Bush Administration Action not Based on Science or Law
Washington, DC — A U.S. District Court today blocked a Bush Administration effort to prematurely weaken protections for the gray wolf and restored federal protections for the species in the lower 48 states. The court chastised the Bush Administration's policy as not based on science or the law and as merely an attempt to remove the wolf from the Endangered Species Act list as quickly as possible. Defenders of Wildlife was the lead plaintiff, along with 18 other groups in a lawsuit to prevent the premature delisting of the endangered species. The group was represented by Faegre & Benson based in Minneapolis.
"We all want to see the wolf recover to the point where it no longer needs federal protection. But, that recovery must be based on a proper review of the best science available," stated Rodger Schlickeisen, Defenders of Wildlife's President. "The Bush Administration failed to do this and proposed prematurely removing protections for the wolf and today the Court called them on it."
Defenders filed suit after a March 18, 2003 decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service to downlist the wolf from "endangered" to "threatened." The move weakened protections for the wolf in most regions, and sharply limited other potential areas for wolf recovery. The Court ruled today that it was unlawful for the Administration to weaken legal protections for the wolf in large areas of its historic range based on recovery success in a just a few core areas like the Northern Rockies and Great Lakes. Today's decision effectively blocks, or calls into serious question, other Bush Administration wolf proposals, most importantly their attempt to remove protections entirely for wolves in the Northeast.
"Today's decision shows that the Bush Administration is not a true partner when it comes to species conservation, that they only want to remove species protections as quickly as possible, regardless of what the science shows," stated Schlickeisen. "It is only when all stakeholders, federal and local, work together, using the best available science, that true progress on species conservation can be made."