Defenders of Wildlife v. Andrus (Alaska Wolf Kill)
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
627 F.2d 1238 (1980)
Alaska implemented an aerial wolf-culling program on land largely under federal jurisdiction to boost moose populations, without the Interior Department (defendant) preparing an environmental impact statement; wildlife organizations (plaintiffs) sued, arguing the Federal Land Policy and Management Act required the Secretary to evaluate whether federal intervention was necessary to prevent the ecological disruption, and the district court issued a temporary restraining order halting the program on federal land, prompting the defendants' appeal.
Whether the Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires the federal government to supersede a state wildlife-management program that harms wildlife on federal land.