<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<br>
<div class="moz-forward-container">
<div class="moz-forward-container">
<div class="moz-forward-container">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=utf-8">
<i>For immediate release – Jan. 19, 2017</i><br>
<p><b>Contact</b>: Timothy Preso, Earthjustice, 406-586-9699<br>
Kevin Proescholdt, Wilderness Watch, 612-201-9266<br>
Gary Macfarlane, Friends of the Clearwater, 208-882-9755<br>
Ken Cole, Western Watersheds Project, 208-429-1679<br>
</p>
<p><b>Court Rules That Forest Service Illegally Authorized
Helicopter Intrusions in Premiere Wilderness Area</b><br>
</p>
<p><i>Idaho Must Destroy Data Obtained From Illegal Elk and
Wolf Collaring</i><br>
</p>
<p>POCATELLO, Idaho – A federal judge today ruled that the
U.S. Forest Service illegally authorized the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) to conduct approximately
120 helicopter landings to place radio collars on elk in the
Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness last winter in an
operation during which IDFG also unlawfully collared four
wolves.<br>
</p>
<p>As a result, the court ruled, the Forest Service and IDFG
are prohibited from using any data obtained from the
illegally installed elk and wolf collars in future project
proposals, IDFG must destroy the data received from the
illegal collars, and the Forest Service must delay
implementation of any future helicopter projects in the
wilderness for 90 days to allow time for legal challenges.<br>
</p>
<p>“Today’s decision vindicates the basic principle that a
wilderness is supposed to be a wild area where, as Congress
said, ‘the earth and its community of life are untrammeled
by man,’ not a helicopter landing zone,” said Earthjustice
attorney Tim Preso.</p>
<p>The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill
concludes that the Forest Service violated the Wilderness
Act and conducted insufficient environmental review in
allowing IDFG to land helicopters in the River of No Return
in January 2016 to capture and place radio telemetry collars
on wild elk. IDFG also captured and radio-collared four
wolves during these operations—an unauthorized action that
was not permitted by the Forest Service, but that threatened
to advance IDFG’s plans to undertake widespread wolf-killing
in the wilderness by providing locational information on the
collared wolves. The federal Wilderness Act prohibits the
use of motorized vehicles including helicopters and requires
preservation of natural conditions in wilderness areas.</p>
<p>The judge found that these circumstances present “the rare
or extreme case” where an injunction requiring destruction
of the illegally obtained radio-collar data is required,
stating: “The IDFG has collected data in violation of
federal law and intends to use that data to seek approvals
in the future for more helicopter landings in the Wilderness
Area. … The only remedy that will directly address the
ongoing harm is an order requiring destruction of the data.”<br>
</p>
<p>The helicopter operations that were illegally permitted by
the Forest Service are part of IDFG’s broader program to
inflate elk numbers above natural levels within the
wilderness by eliminating wolf packs that prey on the elk.
IDFG’s existing elk and predator management plans call for
exterminating 60 percent of the wolf population in the heart
of the River of No Return to provide more elk for hunters
and commercial outfitters in an area that receives some of
the lightest hunting use in the state.<br>
</p>
<p>Earthjustice represented Wilderness Watch, Friends of the
Clearwater, and Western Watersheds Project in challenging
the Forest Service’s decision.<br>
</p>
<p>“This action by the Forest Service and IDFG violated
everything that makes Wilderness unique,” said Wilderness
Watch conservation director Kevin Proescholdt. “It was an
unprecedented intrusion with helicopters for the sole
purpose to make wildlife populations in Wilderness conform
to the desires of managers rather than accept and learn from
the ebb and flow of nature.”<br>
</p>
<p>Gary Macfarlane of Friends of the Clearwater added,
“Wilderness, by law, is in contrast to areas that are
heavily manipulated. Capturing elk with net guns from
helicopters is heavy-handed manipulation and denigrates the
Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.”<br>
</p>
<p>“This motorized intrusion on one of our premiere wild areas
was made all the worse by the fact that the Forest Service
allowed the state to turn natural wolf predation on elk into
a reason to degrade the wilderness with helicopter
landings,” said Ken Cole, Western Watersheds Project’s Idaho
director. “We hope the court’s ruling will compel the Forest
Service to prioritize compliance with the Wilderness Act in
future decisions.” <br>
</p>
<p>At 2.4 million acres, the River of No Return is the largest
contiguous unit of the National Wilderness Preservation
System in the Lower 48. It hosts abundant wildlife including
elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, wolves, cougars, and
wolverines. It is one of the few public-land wilderness
areas of sufficient size to allow natural wildlife
interactions to play out without human interference, and for
this reason was one of the original wolf reintroduction
sites in the Northern Rockies.<br>
</p>
<p><i>Earthjustice, the nation’s premier nonprofit
environmental law organization, wields the power of law
and the strength of partnership to protect people’s
health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to
advance clean energy, and to combat climate change.
Because the earth needs a good lawyer.</i><br>
# # # # #<br>
</p>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<meta name="Title" content="">
<meta name="Keywords" content="">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
charset=utf-8">
<meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14">
<meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 14">
<link rel="File-List"
href="Serra%20signature_files/filelist.xml">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Author>Dawn Serra</o:Author>
<o:LastAuthor>Dawn Serra</o:LastAuthor>
<o:Revision>14</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>9</o:TotalTime>
<o:Created>2011-06-28T21:30:00Z</o:Created>
<o:LastSaved>2016-09-01T02:03:00Z</o:LastSaved>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>80</o:Words>
<o:Characters>461</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Wilderness Watch</o:Company>
<o:Lines>3</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>540</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<link rel="themeData"
href="Serra%20signature_files/themedata.xml">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>150</w:Zoom>
<w:SpellingState>Clean</w:SpellingState>
<w:GrammarState>Clean</w:GrammarState>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Times;
panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\FF2D\FF33 \660E\671D";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-1593833729 1073750107 16 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-1593833729 1073750107 16 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Times;
mso-fareast-font-family:"\FF2D\FF33 \660E\671D";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-unhide:no;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-unhide:no;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
p.p1, li.p1, div.p1
{mso-style-name:p1;
mso-style-unhide:no;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica;
mso-fareast-font-family:"\FF2D\FF33 \660E\671D";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
span.actionlistyle33
{mso-style-name:"actionli style33";
mso-style-unhide:no;}
span.style1
{mso-style-name:style1;
mso-style-unhide:no;}
span.GramE
{mso-style-name:"";
mso-gram-e:yes;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1027"/>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/>
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="p1"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:
"Times New Roman"">Dawn Serra<br>
Communications and Outreach Coordinator<b
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> <br>
Wilderness Watch<br>
</b>P.O. Box 9175<br>
Missoula, MT 59807<br>
P: 406.542.2048<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.wildernesswatch.org">www.wildernesswatch.org</a><br>
“Like” WW on <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wilderness-Watch/130160330396668?sk=wall">Facebook</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:
"Times New Roman"">Follow WW on <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://twitter.com/WildernessWatch">Twitter</a><br>
</span><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://wildernesswatch.crm.salsalabs.org/webDonation/">Donate</a><br>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><br>
</i></span><span class="style1"><b
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Wilderness Watch</span></i></b></span><span
class="actionlistyle33"><i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Verdana">
</span></i></span><i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:Verdana">defends our 110
million-acre National Wilderness Preservation
System. <br
style="mso-special-character:line-break">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br
style="mso-special-character:line-break">
<!--[endif]--></span></i><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>