States Fumbling to Intervene in Wolf Delisting Lawsuit
Three states have requested intervenor status in the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf delisting lawsuit brought by 12 so-called environmental groups against the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which officially removed the wolf from the federal list of endangered species in March.
The USFWS requested a two-week extension of time to file a brief opposing the wolf-lovers motion for preliminary injunction to prepare their briefs, compile expert witnesses and agency program declarations, and obtain internal departmental review of their brief.
Federal Judge Donald W. Molloy denied that motion, so the USFWS has only 11 days to respond to the wolf-lovers request for emergency injunctive relief and the judicial repeal of the wolf delisting. He has yet to rule on whether he will allow the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Idaho Fish and Game, and Wyoming Fish and Game to intervene.
In his ruling Judge Molloy noted that the USFWS and the intervenors have had over 60 days to prepare for the lawsuit. In truth, the Federal and state agencies have known for years that this was coming. Despite the lengthy debates and discussions in the respective state legislatures, and the involvement of the respective state governors, it appears that none of the states are prepared for the lawsuit they knew was inevitable.
From a commentator:
When you trust bureaucrats to do your bidding for you, this is what you get; the same rank amateurs that reintroduced wolves and the same gross incompetence that “managed” the wolf program for the past 13 years.
How about this for a concept; the bureaucrats have planned all along to take a dive in this court fight so they can keep the wolf on the Endangered Species list and keep the money coming into their bureaucracies.
That may be too harsh a conclusion. In the next few days we may find out the degree to which the states are legally prepared.
In the similar but unrelated suits brought by 13 eco-antagonists against the USFWS and the Mexican gray wolf program in New Mexico and Arizona, it appears that neither state is in any way prepared or even concerned and they have no plans to intervene. With only the USFWS to defend them, local citizens beset by feral wolf-dogs in their communities may find that the Federal Government does not really give a damn about human concerns, rights, well-being, or public safety.
Ranchers, farmers, rural residents, and hunters across the West are woefully unorganized and unprepared for the machinations of the eco-nazis. That is our weakness and may be our downfall.
The solutions, organization and preparation, are what Wildlife and People and SOS Forests are trying to promote, without significant or sufficient success. Most of you who are reading this are getting royally screwed, but it is your own fault for failing to join with and invest in this movement. You snooze, you lose. We all lose.
