Coalition of advocacy and conservation organizations to represent hunters’ interests in court, possible settlements

Last week, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, Safari Club International and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation collectively moved to intervene in two lawsuits seeking to “relist” wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain region and western states as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Today, we are proud to announce that the court granted the motion.

“We moved for intervention because it was important to us that our members’ and hunters’ voices be heard in this case,” said Michael Jean, litigation counsel for Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “This order granting intervention ensures that. As intervenors, we stand on equal footing as the Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Justice for the remainder of the case.”

This is just the first step in the litigation. Now the real work of defending the Fish and Wildlife Service’s science-based determination that these wolves are recovered and don’t need ESA’s protection begins.

It’s also the first case brought by the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation’s new in-house legal team, which was launched just two months ago. “It’s fitting that we started with this case,” Jean continued. “The first big cases that I worked on as a young legal intern were the appeals over the 2009 and 2011 delisting of the Northern Rocky Mountain wolves. Our first case here is a continuation of those early victories. And it’s the type of work that our members can expect to see from us going forward.”

About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.