Researchers say that after a wolf is harvested, another wolf is unlikely to replace it in the pack.

The Biden administration continues to defend the Trump administration’s decision to remove wolves from the endangered species list, even as it evaluates whether hunting in Idaho and Montana are grounds for restoring and expanding protection.

In the first court filing since the administration said it will review the status of wolves, the Biden Justice Department on Oct. 8 asked a judge in California to dismiss lawsuits brought by environmental groups.

The suits claim the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prematurely removed protection from wolves outside the northern Rocky Mountains in 2020, during the Trump administration.

Wolf advocates accuse the agency of “trying to get out of the wolf-protection business,” according to one court filing.

The claim, according to the Justice Department, is “not grounded in fact.”

As evidence, the department noted that the agency will evaluate “recent actions by Idaho and Montana that threaten to significantly increase human-caused mortality.”

The wildlife service, responding to petitions by environmental groups, announced the 12-month review on Sept. 15. The administration agreed that expanded hunting in Idaho and Montana could affect the species’ status in the northern Rockies.

In court, the administration argues that based on information available in 2020, delisting wolves outside the northern Rockies was the right decision.

The wildlife service concluded that “West Coast” wolves — those in California and the western two-thirds of Oregon and Washington — were connected to a robust and secure population in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, which were already off the federally protected list.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland is scheduled to hear oral arguments Nov. 12. Three lawsuits have been merged into one case. Both sides are seeking summary judgment.

White denied a motion by the American Farm Bureau, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Public Lands Council and American Sheep Industry Association to intervene to help defend the Trump delisting rule.

The agricultural coalition has appealed White’s denial to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The coalition’s participation in the mid-November hearing depends on a speedy and favorable ruling from the appeals court.

White granted intervenor status to sportsmen groups and ruled they have the same interests as farmers and ranchers.

The agricultural coalition argues their members should be able to participate in the lawsuits because their livelihoods are at stake.