[MCN] BREAKING: Court Ruling Halts Wolf Trapping and Snaring in Idaho Grizzly Bear Habitat

[Matthew Koehler]

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Court Ruling Halts Wolf Trapping and Snaring in Idaho Grizzly Bear Habitat

Trapping and snaring will no longer be allowed during non-denning periods



Contacts:

Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice, pwheeler at earthjustice.org, 202-792-6211

Dana Johnson, Wilderness Watch, danajohnson at wildernesswatch.org,
208-310-7003

Greg LeDonne, Western Watersheds Project, greg at westernwatersheds.org,
208-779-2079

KC York, Trap Free Montana, info at trapfreemt.org, 406-218-1170

Dallas Gudgell, International Wildlife Coexistence Network,
Dallas at wildlifecoexistence.org <Suzanne at wildlifecoexistence.org>
 208-914-5194

Nick Gevock, Sierra Club, nick.gevock at sierraclub.org, 406-533-9432

Collette Adkins, Center for Biological Diversity,
cadkins at biologicaldiversity.org, 651-955-3821

Nicholas Arrivo, Humane Society of the United States,
narrivo at humanesociety.org, 202-961-9446



Boise, ID – A summary judgment ruling in Idaho District Court
<https://earthjustice.org/document/idaho-wolf-trapping-order> yesterday
will prevent the state of Idaho from authorizing wolf trapping and snaring
in grizzly bear habitat during non-denning periods. The decision will stop
trapping and snaring in Idaho’s Panhandle, Clearwater, Salmon, and Upper
Snake regions between March 1 and November 30 on public and private lands
to prevent the unlawful take of Endangered Species Act-protected grizzly
bears.

The decision stated, “There is ample evidence in the record, including from
Idaho’s own witnesses, that lawfully set wolf traps and snares are
reasonably likely to take grizzly bears in Idaho.”

Thirteen conservation groups filed suit over the impacts of Idaho’s
expanded wolf trapping and snaring to non-target grizzly bears in December
2021.
<https://earthjustice.org/press/2021/lawsuit-challenges-idaho-wolf-trapping-laws-that-endanger-grizzlies-lynx>
Idaho's
challenged trapping and snaring rules, which have become more expansive in
the past decade, allowed for year-round trapping and snaring on private
land to help meet Idaho’s goal of killing up to 90% of the state’s gray
wolf population. Grizzly bears have been captured in wolf traps and snares
in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Canada, and the court found that Idaho’s
trapping rules violate the Endangered Species Act because grizzlies are
likely to be captured in these deadly traps in the future.

“For the Nimiipuu people, protecting wolves and grizzly bears is akin to
protecting a family member,” said Julian Matthews, coordinator for Nimiipuu
Protecting the Environment. “We are thankful for this decision that will
end the trapping and snaring of wolves in grizzly bear habitat during
non-denning periods. It is critical that we maintain protections for wolves
and grizzlies to ensure these species can continue to carry out their roles
on this land.”

“Today’s decision is a victory for grizzly bears and all species impacted
by Idaho’s indiscriminate wolf trapping and snaring,” said Ben Scrimshaw,
senior associate attorney with Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies Office.
“Even the state of Idaho has acknowledged the risk trapping and snaring
poses to ESA-protected grizzly bears but has allowed it to continue during
non-denning periods anyway. We are thankful that the court acknowledged
this extreme risk and stepped in to prevent more harm.”


In July 2021, Idaho expanded the dangers of wolf-trapping to grizzly bears
by establishing a permanent wolf-trapping season on private property across
the state, eliminating limits on the number of wolves one person can kill,
and providing financial incentives for wolf killing by raising wolf quotas
and introducing state-sponsored, private-contractor killing of wolves.
Idaho’s decision to continue wolf baiting with meat and scent ensures that
grizzly bears will be attracted to wolf traps and snares at high rates.



“Today's ruling provides a reprieve for grizzly bears in Idaho, not to
mention wolves” said Dana Johnson, attorney and policy director for
Wilderness Watch. “Grizzly bear communities in the state are already
struggling—the last thing grizzlies need is to be collateral damage in
Idaho's war on wolves. This ruling makes their homes more secure and
increases the odds of grizzly bears finding their way back to prior
homelands, including the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and the broader
Bitterroot Recovery Zone—an area critical for landscape-scale recovery of
grizzlies.”



“Grizzly bears face too many barriers in recovering throughout Idaho
ecosystems and it's good to see this reckless trapping policy crossed off
the list of concerns,” said Nick Gevock, field organizing strategist at
Sierra Club. “Unfortunately we need to be prepared for more attacks and
there is still much work to be done to ensure grizzlies have the room and
safety they need to gain healthy populations throughout Idaho and beyond.”


“An iconic species such as the grizzly bear deserves to have better
management than what has been parsed out over the years and this is a step
in the right direction, " said Clint Nagel, president of the Gallatin
Wildlife Association. “The indiscriminate taking of wildlife is beneficial
to no one and that is exactly why this was the right decision. It is time
to treat our wildlife as the intrinsic value of our overall existence, for
that is who they are.”


“This decision means that other threatened species like grizzlies won’t be
caught up as collateral damage in Idaho’s persecution of wolves,” said Greg
LeDonne, Idaho director for Western Watersheds Project. “The upheaval and
ecological harm promoted by the state’s wolf management policies run
counter to Idaho’s stated goal of reducing conflict between livestock and
wildlife, and it’s good that today’s decision at least limits some of the
effects of this anti-science approach.”


“We are pleased with the court’s decision as there truly is no such thing
as wolf trapping. Trapping is indiscriminate, putting protected grizzly
bears at risk, as well as anyone who comes across a trapped grizzly,” said KC
York, president/founder of Trap Free Montana.


“Today’s ruling is good for grizzly bears in these key areas,” said Suzanne
Asha Stone, director of the Idaho-based International Wildlife Coexistence
Network. “Endangered Species Act protections have helped restore grizzly
bears to their historic landscapes, where they once thrived for centuries.
Today’s ruling recognizes the need for humans to actively coexist with
these species and their natural habitat.”


“This is such a relief for me and for everyone who cares about grizzlies
and wolves,” said Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the
Center for Biological Diversity. “The court recognized that trapping’s just
not legal when it can end up causing agonizing pain and injury to
endangered animals. This is a common-sense ruling that will make grizzly
bears and other wildlife safer from traps that are inherently cruel.”

“This highlights that the State of Idaho cannot be trusted to manage
grizzly bears if they were to be removed from the Endangered Species list,”
said Jeff Juel, forest policy director with Friends of the Clearwater.

“This ruling gives Idaho’s grizzly bears a much-needed reprieve from cruel
and indiscriminate traps in their habitat,” said Nicholas Arrivo, managing
attorney for the Humane Society of the United States. “We cannot afford to
let grizzlies become a casualty of Idaho’s intensifying war on wolves.”

“This wonderful victory for grizzly bears and for wolves shows that even
Idaho is not above the law,” said Constance Poten, board chair of Footloose
Montana. “It gives much needed respect and hope for essential native
wildlife.”

Earthjustice is representing the Center for Biological Diversity, Footloose
Montana, Friends of the Clearwater, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Global
Indigenous Council, the Humane Society of the United States, International
Wildlife Coexistence Network, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, Sierra
Club, Trap Free Montana, Western Watersheds Project, Wilderness Watch, and
Wolves of the Rockies in the lawsuit.


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