Home > Environmental Law Home > Lawsuits > Third Legal Victory to Protect the Gray Wolf Comes from DC

Sierra Club Lawsuits

Third Legal Victory to Protect the Gray Wolf Comes from DC

Case Updates:

September 13, 2005

The gray wolf has been poisoned, trapped, shot, and hunted over time because of fears about its predatory nature and danger to human populations. However, these extreme reactions were tempered in 1978, when the entire species was listed as “endangered” and afforded federal protections. With the support of the government, the species has been able to make a partial recovery in same states, although the present count of around 4,000 is drastically shy of its peak of hundreds of thousands. Sadly, acting against scientific evidence showing that the protections help and are still needed, the Bush administration has engaged in a multifaceted attempt to remove protections from the species. The latest attempt occurred when two states, Michigan and Wisconsin, applied for permission to kill wolves in the two states even though they are protected. The administration granted the permits, and Sierra Club, represented by Faegere & Benson, joined with a wide range of conservation groups in a lawsuit to save this endangered species before it is too late. In September, a federal judge in DC ruled that the government acted illegally in issuing permits to kill wolves without allowing the public to comment on the proposal. The judge also expressed skepticism about the government’s bizarre claim that it is necessary to kill wolves in order to save them. This is the third victorious case Sierra Club has joined to protect the gray wolf (see our related cases below).

Details and Documents:

Order Granting Permanent Injunction
September 13, 2005, US District Court for the District of Columbia

Plaintiffs' Brief on Motion for Injunction
September 12, 2005, Filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia

Related Cases:
Wyoming Wolf Protections Upheld in Court Decision

Wolf Conservation Saved from Bush Administration’s Unlawful Proposal