South Dakota has joined 16 other states in a friend of the court brief on a wildlife management case that could have long-term implications for the state’s livestock industry. It argues the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was prevented by a Federal Trial Court from further release of Mexican Wolves pending permits from the State of New Mexico. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says the issue centers around state’s rights and now is before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
He says it should be up to states to manage wolves and one of the major reasons the friend of the court brief was filed is that wolf reintroduction by the Fish and Wildlife Service could spread to South Dakota.
Jackley says the case in New Mexico involved the federal government reintroducing the wolves without establishing any kind of management plan.
Jackley says federal regulations required that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service obey state permit requirements prior to releasing wildlife under certain federal programs.