A federal judge ruled that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) does not have to immediately destroy information gathered from collars placed on elk and wolves by a crew that illegally landed in a wilderness area. He made that ruling to allow IDFG to appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, but he also rejected IDFG’s request to lift a ban on using any of the data.
“We’re proceeding with the appeal to ultimately allow us to use these scientific data in future decisions,” Roger Phillips, IDFG spokesman, told the Associated Press.
IDFG placed collars on 57 elk and four wolves in early 2016 in Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. The judge ruled the U.S. Forest Service broke laws by allowing IDFG to carry out that work by landing helicopters in the wilderness area.
(Photo source: Idaho Department of Fish and Game)