On January 7, 2016, Wilderness Watch, joined by Friends of the Clearwater and Western Watersheds Project, filed a complaint in federal court to stop the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game from conducting a major helicopter-supported elk capturing and collaring project in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness (FC-RORNW) in central Idaho. The FC-RONRW is the largest contiguous Wilderness in the National Forest System and the largest outside Alaska.
The project represents the most significant motorized intrusion ever approved within a national forest Wilderness, where motorized access is generally banned. The project is being conducted as part of the State of Idaho’s egregious plans to eventually kill more than half of the wolves in the FC-RONRW in order to manage the area as a game farm.
We’re represented by Earth Justice.
Read a press release.
Read the Complaint.
Read our Opening Brief.
Read our Reply Brief.
On 1/13/16 we learned IDFG used the helicopters to also capture and collar wolves in the Wilderness, another violation of the law and its Forest Service permit.
Read a blog post by Wilderness Watch member Brett Haverstick, who recently trekked into the FC-RONRW.
Photo: Brett Haverstick
