Judge transfers wolf case to Wyoming from Colo.

A lawsuit filed by a coalition of environmental groups challenging the federal government's decision to transfer wolf management to the state of Wyoming should be heard in the state, a federal judge has ruled. Senior U.S. District Judge John L. Kane of Colorado issued an order Wednesday granting a joint request from the federal government and the state of Wyoming to move the case from federal court in Colorado to federal court in Wyoming. The eight environmental groups filed suit in November claiming that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the federal Endangered Species Act when it ended federal protections for wolves in Wyoming last fall. The groups maintain Wyoming's management plan classifying wolves as predators that can be shot on sight in most of the state is inadequate.