Group sues over failure to list wolverines

Defenders of Wildlife has sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the agency’s failure to list the wolverine as an endangered species.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Missoula on Oct. 12, claims the agency, among other things, ignored its own science and research when it made the decision not to list wolverines.

The largest land member of the weasel family, wolverines are known for their toughness in the field, traveling long distances to find a meal in some of the most difficult terrain in the world.

But the carnivores also den in wooden snags under deep snow, and the concern is that as climate change continues to impact snowmelt and snowpack, wolverine den sites will also be diminished.

FWS had planned to list wolverines in 2013 after a prolonged legal battle with environmental groups, but the agency did an about-face in August and decided to not list them, claiming studies didn’t show how much climate change would impact them in the future.

According to the Defenders, about 65 percent of wolverine denning habitat will be lost by 2085, based on studies by biologists Kevin McKelvey, Jeff Copeland and others.

McKelvey and Copeland are biologists with the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station. Copeland is well known for his ground-breaking research of wolverines in Glacier National Park.

The Defenders look to the court to reverse FWS’ decision not to list wolverines. If successful, the lawsuit would likely mean the end of wolverine trapping in Montana. Trapping, the Defenders say, is a contributing factor to wolverine mortality in the Lower 48.

The Defenders maintain there are about 250 to 300 wolverines in the contiguous United States, but only about 35 to 50 are breeders.