Aggies Win on Gray Wolf in 9th Circuit

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- A federal court erred in not allowing agricultural groups to intervene in an ongoing legal battle regarding the status of the gray wolf, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.

In February, the U.S. District Court for Northern California in Oakland threw out a Trump administration decision that removed the gray wolf from the endangered species list in the lower 48 states.

A number of ag groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and Public Lands Council, filed a motion to intervene in the case in May 2021 -- a motion the court denied.

On Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the ag groups' favor. Though environmental groups have long supported maintaining federal protections for the gray wolf, the Biden administration on April 25, 2022, also filed an appeal of the district court's ruling. So far, the administration has not filed briefs in the case.

In denying the ag groups' motion, the district court ruled agriculture interests would be adequately represented by other groups that were allowed to intervene. The Ninth Circuit appeals panel disagreed.

"Accordingly, the coalition's specific interest in the litigation -- ensuring the protection of livestock or compensating for its loss -- differs significantly from the interests of the other parties, such as an interest in recreational hunting," the Ninth Circuit said.

As a result, the appeals court also delayed an oral argument scheduled on the appeal for Sept. 20 in San Francisco.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a statement he was grateful the Ninth Circuit understands agriculture's interests in defending the delisting of the gray wolf.

"With populations now thriving, management of the species should be the responsibility of the states, which can more effectively determine the most appropriate actions to manage gray wolf populations," he said.

The Endangered Species Act status of the gray wolf has swung back and forth for decades, as agriculture, conservation and environmental interests have for years debated whether the species has recovered or not.

On Nov. 3, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule delisting the gray wolf because of its recovery in the northern Rocky Mountains and Great Lakes.

The Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that, while those particular populations occupy a fraction of their historical range, they are capable of sustaining viable wolf populations in the lower 48 states over time.

Livestock producers in Minnesota and other states that have gray wolf populations have for years faced challenges in protecting their animals.

According to data from the USDA Wildlife Services, between 1979 and 2018, Minnesota cattle farmers averaged a loss of nine adult cattle and 54 calves each year to gray wolves. During that 39-year period, Minnesota cattle farmers lost a total 363 adult cattle and 2,171 calves to gray wolf attacks.

Since being listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1974, the groups said, the gray wolf population has exceeded recovery goals by about 300%.

According to the USFWS website, there were 5,680 gray wolves in the lower 48 states as of 2017. The northern Rocky Mountain and Great Lakes regions account for 98% of that population. The USFWS has not updated those numbers since 2017.

The ESA does not protect the gray wolf population in Alaska, which ranges from 7,700 to 11,200 animals.

In May 2021, the NCBA, PLC, American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Forest Resource Council filed an amicus brief in the case.

The back and forth on listing and delisting the gray wolf spans several presidential administrations.

Earlier this week, the Center for Biological Diversity also sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service threatening a separate lawsuit arguing that the FWS has failed to develop a national recovery plan for gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act.

Read more on DTN:

"Court Vacates Gray Wolf ESA Delisting," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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