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Montana plans to sue over wolverine protections

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks on Friday announced its intent to file a lawsuit after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed wolverines as a threatened species.

BOISE, Idaho — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks on Friday announced its intent to file a lawsuit against the federal government after a November 2023 proposal could change the endangered status of wolverines to a threatened species.

The state of Montana filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to prevent a FWS proposal to add wolverines to the endangered species list. 

The Montana agency said wolverines are seriously threatened due to climate change, habitat fragmentation and geographic isolation. By removing them from the endangered species list and stripping them of their protections, the 300 wolverines in the lower 48 states could disappear.

"Montana continues to demonstrate that it can't be trusted to protect its imperiled wildlife. We won't let Montana strip wolverines of the Endangered Species Act protections they desperately need," said Andrea Zaccardi, the Center for Biological Diversity's carnivore conservation legal director.

As previously reported by the Associated Press, the debate over the protection of animals has been an issue for almost two decades.

The AP also reports wolverines were nearly wiped out back in the 1900s due to unregulated trapping and poisoning campaigns. The animal primarily lives in the high northern Rocky Mountains, and their habitat has lessened due to climate change. 

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