Gray wolves from endangered list

[ELKCHSR]

U.S. removes gray wolves from endangered list

The U.S. government took gray wolves living near the Great Lakes off its list of endangered species on Monday and also proposed removing protections for similar wolves near the Rocky Mountains.

The Interior Department last March determined about 4,000 gray wolves lived in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, up from between 700 and 1,000 when the animal was classified as endangered more than 30 years ago. The federal government proposed ending federal protections for the animals under the Endangered Species Act and turning responsibility over to state and tribal governments.

The wolves, who also live in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, have now officially been scratched off the list that identifies animals and plants at risk of extinction.

The agency also is considering removing from the list gray wolves that live in the region north of the Rocky Mountains in Montana, Idaho and parts of Washington and Oregon.

The government considers the northwestern section of Wyoming a part of this region but Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall said the state did not have enough protections in place for wolves there to be delisted.

Currently, Wyoming is considering using aerial hunting permits to kill wolves in an attempt to keep the animals from hurting private livestock.

 

[ELKCHSR]

Another article, same topic

US wolves taken off endangered list, clearing way for hunting
Laura Zuckerman


US wildlife authorities said they will remove wolves from the endangered species list in three states and want to de-list the animals in three more regions, paving the way for hunting the creatures for the first time in decades.

US Fish and Wildlife Service director H. Dale Hall said during a telephone news conference the decision was taken because the wolves had been successfully re-populated.

"We're extremely proud to be announcing the recovery of the wolf," Hall said.

Hall and other officials said removing federal protections for the 4,000 wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin and proposing to lift them for the 1,200 wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are proof the Endangered Species Act, the nation's landmark conservation law, works.

Under both plans, states will have the authority to manage their wolf populations as they see fit so long as they maintain enough wolves to ensure their survival.

Wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin will be de-listed in a matter of weeks, while it will take a year to complete the public hearings and other requirements to remove wolves from the list in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Conservation groups on Monday hailed the plan for wolves in the Great Lakes, applauding Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin for what they said were wolf-management plans that will ensure the survival of the species.

But they lambasted plans by Idaho and Wyoming.

"Idaho and Wyoming have state management plans that are geared toward wolf eradication, not wolf conservation," Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen said in a prepared statement.

Wolves in the United States were hunted to near-extinction a century ago under government-sponsored elimination programs designed to protect livestock. By 1974, when wolves were classified as endangered, the only documented wolf packs in the lower 48 states existed in Minnesota and Michigan.

In 1995, federal wildlife biologists released 66 wolves into the wilds of central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in hopes they would re-establish themselves in their native range.

But the wolf's restoration in the western regions has been greeted with outrage by ranchers and hunters, the region's most powerful lobbies.

They contend wolves are a nuisance, threatening livestock and causing declines in big-game populations.

They have campaigned tirelessly to persuade state political leaders and federal officials that their numbers should be cut dramatically.

If the proposal to de-list wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming survives legal challenges, they will be required to manage a minimum of 300 wolves across the region, the number biologists say constitutes a recovered population.

Idaho, Montana and Wyoming intend to use public hunting and other methods to keep wolf populations down to what they consider a manageable size. Federal oversight would start should wolf numbers fall below the minimum 300.

In Idaho, where anti-wolf sentiments run high, Governor Butch Otter has called for the killing of 550 wolves, or 85 percent of the state's wolf population. In the federally approved plan submitted by state game managers, Idaho would manage at least 150 wolves.

Plans are under way to open hunting seasons and Idaho wildlife officials have proposed killing off packs where they say wolves have caused unacceptable declines in popular game species, such as elk.

While protected by the Endangered Species Act, it was generally illegal to kill wolves unless they were posing an imminent threat to life or property

 

[Ithaca 37]

Where's all the Hunt Talkers who said this would never happen? BHR, we're waiting to hear from you.

 

[ELKCHSR]

I will admit I was a disbeliever, thinking this delisting would never happen

I am extremely surprised that government worked this fast to complete what they have done towards delisting wolves...

From experience witnessing the tight hold animal rights groups have in dictating these types of events and how they will unfold