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On January 7th, BFC's lawsuit against the Montana Department of Livestock and the Federal government will have a hearing in federal district court in Helena, Montana. This lawsuit, filed in conjunction with Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers and The Ecology Center, Inc. is directed at the deficiencies of eagle monitoring, the use of helicopters for hazing, and other activities associated with the Horse Butte Capture facility. It has been over a year and a half in preparation, and we'll finally get our opportunity to be heard in court.

The heart of the lawsuit rests with the lack of proper analysis of the effects of helicopter hazing on the environment and failure of the Forest Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to properly monitor and enforce provisions of the Horse Butte Capture Facility Environmental Assessment (EA). Each year the Forest Service and the Montana DOL develop and sign an Annual Operating Plan outlining how the DOL will conduct its activities, and that those activities are lawful and properly authorized. We believe that this Operating Plan violates the EA and the Special Use Permit that authorizes the DOL's capture and hazing activities in the Horse Butte area. In addition to that, we believe the DOL's activities violate NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and other federal laws.

We will be asking the Court for an injunction against the DOL to cease using helicopters for hazing. We'll also be asking for the Forest Service to pull the Special Use Permit that allows the DOL to construct and use the Horse Butte Capture facility and conduct hazing activities in the Horse Butte area.

We'll be asking for the US Fish and Wildlife Service to rescind its Incidental Take Permit (which allows the DOL to "take," or basically kill one eagle--or render one eagle nest unviable). We'll also ask them to re-enter in formal consultation with the Forest Service over the eagle monitoring conflict, the effects of heli-hazing on eagles and on other threatened and endangered species, and on the environment in general. We'll be asking the Court to force the US Fish and Wildlife Service to make the US Forest Service cease using the Horse Butte Capture Facility EA and the Special Use Permit as the basis for allowing any of the actions that they authorize. We'll let you know how the case turns out as soon as we can.