Montana judge restores state wolf hunting regulations
(UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court refused yesterday to take up the case. But here’s a roundup of all the Montana law changes that were overturned, courtesy of the Montana Public Broadcasting)
(Original Article)
In case you’re not following the Montana judicial action, here’s a little synopsis of what happened:
In 2011, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that the state was wrong in killing as many as 70 wolves, which had gone feral, in a case called State of Montana v. District Court for the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Montana, in which the state had argued that the issue was moot.
The state appealed the court’s decision, arguing that the lawsuit was the only way for Montana to have the right to reinstate the current hunting regulations. The state’s state Supreme Court took a look at the state’s arguments and ruled that the case was moot. The case was reinstated and dismissed, leaving it open for a district court to decide if the state was, in fact, violating the law: It’s not clear how the court will decide this, but the state might argue that the lawsuit is simply a new suit against the state, seeking the same judgment it won in the first place.
On Monday, Judge Richard L. Cebull signed an order that restores the wolf hunting regulations, which require that each hunter or non-resident with a license to hunt elk or deer must apply for a permit before the hunting season, and only apply for a hunting license if there’s a “reasonable chance” of finding the target animal. In other words, the state is now only allowed to pursue certain types of non-resident hunting, such as wolf hunting, in a year when the animal “happens” to be in the area.
It’s unclear how the state will enforce the new rules, but here’s how Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks explained it in a press release it issued on Monday:
“Montana will be open to private wolf hunt participants who comply with the state’s current regulations, although hunting will be allowed only on private
