The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in March affirmed the constitutionality of the removal of wolves from the federal endangered species list. The deadline to appeal that decision passed quietly last week with no action from plaintiff animal rights and anti-hunting groups.
The lack of action means the case won’t advance to the U.S. Supreme Court, and that the litigation has ended in favor of state-regulated management and control of wolves.
Attorneys representing conservation and wildlife groups had presented oral arguments supporting the delisting and state management of wolf populations in the Ninth Circuit hearing.