06/10/09

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) _ A conservation group has sued the federal
government over the recent removal of most gray wolves in the
Northern Rockies from the endangered species list.

Despite the predator's steady expansion across much the region
over the last decade, the Bozeman-based Greater Yellowstone
Coalition says in its lawsuit that the wolf's long-term survival
remains at risk.

The suit was assigned to U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in
Missoula. Molloy also is presiding over a similar lawsuit filed
last week by 13 environmental and animal rights groups.

Endangered status was lifted on about 1,300 wolves in Idaho and
Montana on May 3. 300 wolves in Wyoming remain on the list, after
federal officials decided the state's wolf law was too hostile to
guarantee their recovery. Wyoming has challenged the decision.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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