Arizona sues to require new Mexican wolf plan

Saying the state’s sovereignty is at issue, the Arizona Game and Fish Department sued the federal government Monday for failing to come up with a plan that would result in Mexican wolves being taken off the endangered species list. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, is built around what Assistant Attorney General James Odenkirk said is the failure of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to develop a legally required “recovery plan” for the wolf. That, Odenkirk said, violates federal law. But the issue goes far deeper than a technical violation. Odenkirk said having the wolf listed as endangered and a project to reintroduce the wolf to portions of Arizona have imposed “significant additional cost” to Game and Fish to manage and conserve wildlife. “These costs will continue until the Mexican wolf is recovered and the Fish and Wildlife Service de-lists the species,” he wrote. “Federal control of the Mexican wolf also interferes with Arizona’s sovereign authority to manage and conserve the Mexican wolf pursuant to Arizona law,” he told the judge. That goes to the heart of the case. Once the wolf is no longer listed as “endangered,” the federal government no longer has any role to play in preserving the species. And that would open the door to Game and Fish — presumably under direction from the Legislature — deciding how best to manage the species. Heidi McIntosh, an attorney with Earthjustice, which has its own lawsuits against the Fish and Wildlife Service over lack of a realistic recovery plan, said putting the state in control of wolf populations has implications all its own...more