Forest Service Sued for Not Protecting Gray Wolves and Other Threatened Species

Gray wolves and other threatened species are not getting enough protection in a Minnesota national forest, Greens claim in a federal lawsuit. The lawsuit filed in D.C. Federal Court by Earthworks and the Center for Biological Diversity seeks declaratory and injunctive relief. The defendants are the U.S. Forest Service and its chief, Thomas Tidwell; the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. In their June 6 complaint, the environmental groups say they are concerned about the fates of the gray wolf, northern long-eared bat and Canada lynx in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. The non-profits claim the government has not ensured that its revised Land and Resource Management Plan for the forest will not destroy the threatened species' habitat. They are asking a federal judge to find the defendants have violated the Endangered Species Act, and to compel them to initiate a new ESA consultation and biological opinion for the forest plan. The environmentalists also want the court to halt any projects that would affect the animals until these actions take place...more