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Wolf dispute goes to court

Gray wolves, like this one shown in an undated file photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, were the subject of an appellate court hearing in Salt Lake City on Monday. (FILE Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Paul Foy Associated Press
Gray wolves, like this one shown in an undated file photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, were the subject of an appellate court hearing in Salt Lake City on Monday. (FILE Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

SALT LAKE CITY – Lawyers for Wyoming and its livestock industry sought Monday to pre-empt a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reject Wyoming’s plan for managing gray wolves, in arguments before a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The federal government argued that a 2004 letter written by the agency, objecting to Wyoming’s plan, wasn’t a final action that can be appealed in the courts.

Wyoming countered that the Fish and Wildlife Service has all but made up its mind on a decision due within months and that the agency’s decision is unwarranted.

Justice Department attorney David Shilton, defending the Fish and Wildlife Service, said it had had a panel of 11 wolf experts review Wyoming’s and other wolf-management plans “just to be helpful to the states.”

That doesn’t amount to an official decision subject to court review, Shilton said.

The judges grilled state and livestock industry lawyers on why the appellate court should get involved before the agency issues a final decision in July.

“We don’t know what they’re going to do – that’s the problem,” said Judge Deanell Reece Tacha.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved plans by Montana and Idaho to take over control of the predator but rejected Wyoming’s plan because of a provision to kill wolves outside the greater Yellowstone National Park area.

The federal government wants to remove wolves from federal protection and turn over control to the states, but it contends Wyoming’s failure to draft an acceptable plan is holding that up.

Wyoming is standing by its plan. Outside court Monday, state Attorney General Patrick J. Crank said wolves are overrunning Wyoming, posing a threat to livestock, elk and moose.

Crank said Wyoming recognizes that wolves in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks should remain protected and would provide a limited take for trophy hunters outside both parks in the greater Yellowstone area. It’s outside those areas that the state believes wolves should be eliminated, he said.

Wyoming’s plan calls for the state to manage seven wolf packs outside the parks, where eight more packs could survive, Crank said. But federal authorities want Wyoming to manage at least 15 packs whether they’re in or outside the parks.

Wyoming defines a “wolf pack” as five wolves, while federal authorities say a pack should include at least six members, Crank said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service released wolves from Canada in Yellowstone and central Idaho in 1995. They now number in the hundreds in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.