Judge: Decision to not list wolverines was the wrong one

A federal judge last week found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service erred when it decided to not list the wolverine under the Endangered Species Act in 2014.

In an 85-page ruling Judge Dana Christensen found the Service didn’t take a hard enough look at the science when it decided not to list the rare creature. 

The Service made two mistakes, he noted. For one, it didn’t take into account climate change and its impact on wolverines. Wolverines den under deep snows and as the climate warms, those snow depths are projected to become less and less in the future.

In addition, he said the Service was at fault for not taking into account the low numbers of wolverines in the Lower 48 and the lack of genetic variability in the population.

“No greater level of certainty is needed to see the writing on the wall for this snow-dependent species standing squarely in the path of global climate change,” Christensen wrote. “It has taken us 20 years to get to this point. It is the undersigned’s view that if there is one thing required of the Service under the ESA, it is to take action at the earliest possible, defensible point in time to protect against the loss of biodiversity within our reach as a nation. For the wolverine, that time is now.”

Christensen’s ruling means the Service will have to take another look at whether the wolverine in the Lower 48 should be listed.

The suit was brought by Defenders of Wildlife.

A host of special interest groups intervened in the suit in support of the Service’s decision not to list the wolverine. Montana interests included the Montana Farm Bureau, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and the state of Montana. 

The Service had planned to list the wolverine in 2013 after a prolonged legal battle with environmental groups, but in August 2014, the agency did an about-face and decided to not list the creature, claiming studies didn’t show just how much climate change would impact it in the future.

According to Defender’s case against the Service, about 65 percent of the wolverine’s denning habitat will be lost by 2085, based on studies done by biologists Kevin McKelvey, Jeff Copeland and several others. McKelvey and Copeland were biologists with the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Copeland is best known for his groundbreaking research of wolverines in Glacier National Park.

Glacier Park is a stronghold for wolverines, with an estimated population of about 40 to 45 animals.