Several conservation groups filed notice Thursday that they intend to sue the Trump administration over protections for wolverines.
Wolverines look like small, furry bears with a bushy tail. They are members of the weasel family and can be quite fierce. They need a lot of room — and a lot of snow — to survive. Females need deep snow to dig dens in winter to raise their kits.
In 2016, environmental groups sued the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service for backing down from a proposed listing under the Endangered Species Act. A judge told the agency to work toward protecting the estimated 300 animals left in the country.
Thursday’s filing by the Idaho Conservation League and others says Fish and Wildlife has failed to act to protect the remaining wolverines in Idaho, Washington, Montana, Wyoming and Oregon. The groups say along with trapping and human incursion, climate change is reducing the snowpack the wolverines need to survive.
The groups say if the government doesn’t act in 60 days to protect the animals, they will sue the Trump Administration.
Here's video of the elusive wolverine courtesy USFWS and the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho nations.
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