2—Cold Mountain Cold Rivers Complaint

capture facility located on the Peninsula. Such premonitoring is

required by the non-discretionary terms and conditions of the

Incidental Take Statement contained in the Biological Opinion

(BO) issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The

failure to pre-monitor bald eagle nests prior to constructing

the bison capture facility, therefore, constitutes a violation

of the Endangered Species Act. Plaintiffs sent Defendants a

sixty-day Notice of Intent to Sue (NOI) on January 5, 2001. See

Exhibit 1, Jan. 5, 2001 NOI. In that NOI, Plaintiffs also

reminded the Defendants of the helicopter hazing prohibition in

the “Horse Butte Area.” See Ex.1. The NOI additionally notified

the Defendants that the Annual Operation Plan for the 2000-2001

Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL) Bison Capture Facility

violates the Biological Evaluation (BE) and BO, and therefore

the ESA, by redefining the boundaries of the Horse Butte Area

where Helicopter use is strictly prohibited. Sixty days has now

lapsed since Plaintiffs sent the NOI. See Ex. 1.

2.

Plaintiffs hereby also challenge the Annual Operation

Plan and Special Use Permit issued by the Gallatin National

Forest, and the use of helicopters in the Horse Butte Area to

haze bison. On April 27, 2000, Plaintiffs originally sent

Defendants a sixty-day NOI for various ESA violations, including

helicopter hazing in the Horse Butte Area. See Exhibit 2, April