Oregon Court Dismisses Wolf Lawsuit

Last week, the Oregon Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit filed by Cascadia Wildlands to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's decision to delist the gray wolf, under the state's Endangered Species Act.  State wildlife officials removed wolves from Oregon’s endangered species list in 2015 and lawmakers passed a bill backing that move in 2016.  The environmental group sued, arguing the delisting was premature and not based on sound science.

The appeals court said the legislative bill makes the environmentalists’ lawsuit irrelevant.

Wolves are still federally protected as an endangered species in western Oregon.