“This case is critical to both wolf recovery and the continued viability of the Endangered Species Act,” he began. The truth about Fish and Wildlife’s latest delisting rule, he told the court, was that it was based on politics, not on science. The agency’s recovery plan for wolves in the Northern Rockies covered Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, along with portions of Utah, Washington, and Oregon. Before wolves could be declared recovered and removed from federal protection, the plan stipulated that state officials in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana (where the vast majority of wolves were found) would
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