Court Blocks Reintroduction of Gray Wolves to Yellowstone Park
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — A federal appeals court late Wednesday blocked the reintroduction of gray wolves to America’s oldest national park, further delaying a release already 21 years in the planning.
But National Park Service officials here said they were confident that “once the court has had the opportunity to review the pleadings . . . the wolf activity will go forward as planned.”
Eight wolves captured in Canada arrived at Great Falls (Mont.) International Airport on Wednesday night and were to be trucked from there to Yellowstone, six decades after the wolf was wiped out by hunters in the region.
The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver intervened, saying it needs time to study pleas from the Farm Bureau Federation and the Justice Department.
The two groups represent ranchers who sued the government to stop the wolf releases. A federal judge last month refused to issue an emergency order halting the release.
The legal action could result in the wolves being returned to Canada.
Meanwhile, another shipment of five wolves was heading to central Idaho, where a delegation of Native Americans was to be on hand for the wolves’ planned release into the wild today.
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