ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20104
No(s). CV-24-86-M-DWM (D. Mont. Aug 5, 2025) (Molloy, J.)

A district court ruled for environmental groups in a challenge to FWS' 2024 finding that listing a distinct population segment (DPS) of gray wolves in the western United States under the ESA was not warranted. The groups argued FWS failed to consider a "significant portion" of the gray wolf's range by ignoring historical range and discounting both Colorado and the West Coast, failed to consider the best available science on gray wolf populations and the impacts of human-caused mortality, and failed to evaluate the threat to gray wolves from inadequate existing regulatory mechanisms. The court found FWS' interpretation of "range" to categorically include only a species' current or occupied range was contrary to the Act, that the Service failed to adequately explain why it relied extensively on Colorado's future contributions to the western DPS while also discounting its significance on purely quantitative grounds, and that its determination that the gray wolf in the West Coast area was not likely in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future was contrary to the record evidence. The court further found FWS failed to use the best available science by relying on population estimates for Idaho and Montana without addressing criticisms raised, and that the Service failed to consider the possibility that states could not hold their commitment to a minimum wolf population. It vacated and remanded FWS' finding.