The new rules designating and delisting the Northern Rocky Mountains and Western Great Lakes distinct population segments of gray wolves are likely to fail in court. They fail to address either the scientific shortcomings or the regulatory gaps of the last judicial go-round. But the reasons the rules so predictably fail may, in the final analysis, run deeper: the agency has been employing suspect interpretations of the ESA without proper explanation, presenting contortions of agency policy, and rejecting of the best available scientific studies. Perhaps by Secretary Salazar's next attempt to delist the wolf he will have come to the same conclusion.
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