A U.S. District Court judge on Dec. 15 dismissed a lawsuit to block wolf reintroductions in Colorado.
The Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association filed a lawsuit on Dec. 11 against Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USFW Director Martha Williams, CPW Director Jeff Davis, Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. The groups also requested a temporary restraining order against the reintroduction effort.
The groups asserted “Releasing wolves in Colorado is a controversial and irreversible action that will have significant impacts on wildlife and the way of life and livelihoods of rural Coloradans.” GCSA and CCA alleged the rush “to release a controversial apex predator without preparing an EIS … [or] NEPA analysis, wolf reintroduction and management in Colorado will cause numerous and wide-ranging impacts.” The lawsuit also asserted the action deprives the groups of procedural rights, among other things.
Judge Regina Rodriguez noted, “while the Petitioners who have lived and worked on the land for many years are understandably concerned about possible impacts of this reintroduction, neither these possible impacts nor their assertions under the Administrative Procedures Act are sufficient for this Court to grant the extraordinary relief they seek.”