Environmental groups seek injunction to stop Montana wolf hunt

A group of wolf advocates has requested an emergency halt to wolf hunting in the Rocky Mountains, less than a week before the general rifle season begins in Montana. The Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater and WildEarth Guardians want to return the gray wolf to federal Endangered Species Act protection. After Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, delisted the wolf with a congressional rider last spring, the groups challenged the action in U.S. District Court. The Missoula court upheld the congressional delisting, and wolf advocates appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That appeal has not been argued yet. "The hearing on summary judgment is scheduled for Nov. 8, but you know they can take a long time to rule, a year or two," Alliance for the Wild Rockies director Michael Garrity said on Monday. "The general rifle season is about to start, so we asked for the emergency injunction."...more