Two conservationist groups are suing three federal agencies over an environmental review that the government deemed satisfies the requirements needed to reemploy a policy that allows the killing of predators including coyotes and mountain lions in federally protected land across Nevada.

The lawsuit was brought forward by New Mexico-based environmental group WildEarth Guardians and the Idaho-based Western Watersheds Project. The two conservation groups filed their complaint early last week in the US District Court in Reno, Nevada.

The lawsuit stems from a similar lawsuit brought forward by the WildEarth Guardians five years ago. In that suit, the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Wildlife Services agreed to pause operations of a predator management program that was intended to keep livestock safe from predators.

This most recent lawsuit takes issue with the Wildlife Services 2020 decision to reimplement the program after their analysis determined the program had “no significant impact” on the environment.

The 1931 Congress-approved predator management program falls under the United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services. The program allows the USDA to “eradicate, suppress or bring under control” native species — including mountain lions, wolves, and coyotes — “for the benefit of agribusiness.” Since its inception, the WildEarth Guardians have continually contested the Wildlife Services over the tactics used under the predator management program.

The two groups accuse the government of failing to properly analyze and fully disclose the environmental impact of large-scale predator management tactics. The tactics used include hunting from aerial vantage points like helicopters as well as poisoning end trapping animals on federally protected lands. The Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service land in Nevada are the two other Federal agencies named in the lawsuit.

The conservation groups allege that Wildlife Services does not take into consideration the science behind the impacts of the “large-scale slaughter” program. The program is responsible for roughly 1.3 million native species being killed across the United States with a majority of them being coyotes.

Lindsay Larris, the wildlife program director with the WildEarth Guardians group, shares, “While society has evolved to understand the importance of native species as a key part of ecosystems and the need for coexistence of wildlife, Wildlife Services continues to rely on antiquated practices in the name of ‘managing’ conflicts with wildlife.”

Alongside ignoring the science that the predator management program was harmful to the environment and ecosystems, the conservation groups argued that Wildlife Services illegally made their 2020 conclusion because the Animal Damage Control Act only allows government agencies to do what is needed to control “injurious animal species.”

The lawsuit also contends that the three named agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Wilderness Act because they are not demonstrating the need for lethal predator controls for legitimate “wilderness purposes.” The groups also argue that there is not sufficient evidence that the predators are causing serious losses of domestic livestock. Wildlife Services notes however that oftentimes, lethal predatory hunting takes place at the request of ranchers and other individuals who lose livestock and other goods to predators.

The conservation groups specifically target the Wildlife Services 2020 report that details imperial sage grouse birds would stand to benefit from the tactics of the predator management program. The lawsuit explains that the agency “fails to establish that ravens and coyotes are depressing or otherwise injuring populations of sage grouse.”

Other concerns mentioned in the complaint include the failure on the part of Wildlife Services to provide an Environmental Impact Statement. The three agencies named in the suit have not responded; however, the Final Environmental Assessment details that there is an “extremely high likelihood (95 to 100%)” that lethal wildlife predator management will continue over the next decade in eight wilderness areas and five study areas in Nevada.