In November 2017, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke unlawfully outsourced federal conservation policy to the International Wildlife Conservation Council (IWCC), a group of trophy hunting advocates. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has long encouraged the conservation of overseas populations of threatened and endangered species like lions, elephants, and rhinos. To that end, FWS had relied on two now-abandoned advisory committees, containing a diverse array of viewpoints. The creation of the IWCC represents a dramatic break from this longstanding practice. We filed suit on behalf of multiple environmental organizations to stop it.

The IWCC is unlawfully stacked with individuals with personal or financial interests in the killing and importing of “trophies,” and the council has refused to release its records, as required by law. Under federal law, groups convened to advise agencies are subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which requires advisory committees to maintain balanced membership, protect against inappropriate special interests, and operate transparently. Since its creation, however, the IWCC has only included voices that support weakening the regulation of imports of threatened and endangered animals. Committee members almost exclusively include trophy hunters, donors to the Trump Administration, and firearm manufacturers. Four of the seventeen members even hosted a hunting-themed inaugural ball for President Trump.

We filed suit against Secretary Zinke and the Department of the Interior for violating FACA by creating the IWCC. On behalf of organizations dedicated to scientifically sound and humane wildlife conservation–the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Humane Society, and the Center for Biological Diversity–we alleged that the Council was illegally chartered, unfairly balanced against conservation interests, rife with conflicts of interest, and operating in secret. The complaint asks that the Court declare that the Council’s creation is illegal, appoint conservation interests to the Council, and release all materials prepared for or by the Council.

The court rejected the government’s motion to dismiss on virtually every count, and the case has been fully briefed for summary judgment.

Disbanding the controversial trophy hunting council is a significant victory in the fight against the Trump administration’s illegal advisory bodies. But the advice, reports, and recommendations provided by the IWCC to Interior violate federal transparency law and, accordingly, we are still fighting to uncover the council’s records and stop Secretary David Bernhardt from implementing its policy recommendations.