Alliance for Wild Rockies v. Salazar: Congress Behaving Badly

The Ninth Circuit's decision in Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Salazar (Wild Rockies II) is the latest battle regarding wolf reintroduction into the Northern Rocky Mountains (NRM). In April 2009, Secretary of the Interior (SOI) Ken Salazar upheld the Bush administration's proposal to delist wolves in the NRM Distinct Population Segment (DPS), which included Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and north-central Utah. Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection was retained for the wolves in Wyoming. As a result, environmental groups brought suit. In August 2010, Judge Donald W. Molloy in the United States District Court for the District of Montana rejected the delisting proposal on the ground that the NRM DPS cannot be subdivided on a state-by-state basis, but must be treated as a single unit.