Wildlife conservation groups are suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its handling of a program to restore Mexican wolves in Arizona.
Attorneys say its rules don’t guarantee the species’ survival in the wild.
The lawsuit filed in federal court contends the service arbitrarily determined that maintaining an experimental population of about 200 wolves is not essential to the existence of the species.
The agency said there are captive populations that could produce more if necessary.
Matthew Bishop with the Western Environmental Law Center said the best available science shows there are areas north of Interstate 40 that are suitably habitable for the wolves. However, rules require for them to be returned south if they are found in that area.
A U.S. District Court Judge had previously ruled that the Wildlife Service ignored advice of leading wolf scientists in adopting its recovery plan.
