Groups Sue to Block Coyote, Wolf-Killing in Wilderness Areas

The federal government’s use of cyanide devices and other agents to eradicate wolves, coyotes, and other predators that kill livestock in Congressionally-designated wilderness areas is illegal under the Wilderness Act, three environmental groups claim in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

Predator control to support grazing is an illegal commercial enterprise under the 1964 Wilderness Act, the groups—WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, and Wilderness Watch—argue in their lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of New Mexico.

The suit seeks an injunction against all predator control in federal wilderness areas, the groups said. Federal employees systematically kill and remove ...