SUN JOURNAL • March 19, 2022
On Feb. 10 in California, a U.S. District Court Judge ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to overturn its decision to delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act. The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, who asserted ostensibly that Fish and Wildlife does not know what it is doing. In the West that gray wolves have re-established themselves, are thriving and have slowly migrated into other states. We are an increasingly litigious nation, and it is probably inevitable that critter protection and management wind up in the judicial/political arena. But hasn’t it gotten out of hand with these same wealthy preservationists groups going to court again and again? Perhaps it is time that lawmakers in Congress consider some measure of tort reform legislation that increases the risk for preservationists groups with deep pockets. ~ V. Paul Reynolds