NATION IN BRIEF : ALASKA : Suit Filed to Stop Aerial Wolf Hunts

Environmentalists filed a lawsuit to block a new state regulation that allows hunters more use of aircraft in shooting wolves. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Juneau by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund on behalf of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife and Wolf Haven International. It seeks a preliminary injunction to stop the practice. The suit says the rule is unenforceable and will invite violation of federal laws barring aerial harassment of wildlife. The regulation permitting same-day aerial wolf hunting was authorized last summer by the Alaska Board of Game.