Court lifts protections on Wyoming gray wolves

A U.S. appeals court on Friday lifted protections that kept gray wolves an endangered species in Wyoming for years after federal officials removed packs in neighboring states from that list.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reverses a lower-court judge who sided with environmental groups and rejected Wyoming’s wolf management plan.

It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly the ruling might put into effect Wyoming state rules that would establish wolf hunts.

“We’re aware of the decision but don’t have guidance yet on what it means in terms of wolf management,” said Renny MacKay, a spokesman for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined in 2011 that gray wolves were no longer a threatened species in Wyoming. State officials promised to maintain a population above the minimum 100 wolves, including 10 breeding pairs, outside of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation.

But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in 2014 that the state’s promise was unenforceable and rejected its management plan.

In its reversal, the appellate court ruled officials exercised proper judgment and responded to concerns about the management plan.