BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates say they will file a settlement agreement with the U.S. government Friday in federal court that would take wolves off the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho.
Kieran Suckling with the Center for Biological Diversity said the agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would keep the species listed as endangered in Oregon, Washington, Utah and Wyoming.
Suckling says political pressure forced environmentalists into the settlement to avoid intervention from Congress that could have broadly undermined the Endangered Species Act.
But a split among the plaintiffs in the case has left three groups opposed to the deal. Tom Woodbury with the Western Watersheds Project says his group thinks wolves still need federal protection.
The settlement would need approval from U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula.
