Judge Orders Idaho to Destroy Elk and Wolf Wilderness DataBy KEITH RIDLER, ASSOCIATED PRESS BOISE, Idaho — Jan 19, 2017, 7:37 PM ET
Idaho must destroy all information collected from tracking collars placed on elk and wolves obtained illegally by landing a helicopter in a central Idaho wilderness area, a federal judge ordered Thursday.
U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill in the 24-page ruling said it's such an extreme case that "the only remedy that will directly address the ongoing harm is an order requiring destruction of the data."
Winmill said the U.S. Forest Service in January 2016 broke environmental laws when it authorized Idaho Fish and Game to put collars on elk by making helicopter landings in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, where engines are prohibited.
The state agency placed the collars on about 60 elk to gather information it said was needed to better understand what was causing reductions in the elk population in the wilderness.
But state workers also put collars on four wolves in an action the Forest Service didn't authorize. The state agency blamed miscommunication with a helicopter crew....
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-orders-idaho-destroy-elk-wolf-wilderness-data-44900609