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Feds to rule on gray wolf delisting today
By JOHN CRAMER of the Missoulian
Comment online To comment on this story, go to Western Montana 360.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will announce its final decision Thursday on whether gray wolves in the northern Rockies should be removed from the endangered species list.
Federal officials declined to comment Wednesday, but they have previously recommended ending federal protection and turning over wolf management to the states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Conservationists said they would take legal action in an attempt to stop the delisting.
They said the region's wolf population has not fully recovered and the states' management plans, which would allow wolf hunting, would jeopardize the species' survival.
The final rule is scheduled to be announced at 10 a.m. MST by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Wolves were added to the federal endangered species list in 1973 after being hunted to near extinction in the Lower 48 states.
Removing the species from federal protection would be a milestone for one of history's most studied and controversial predators.
The final rule is to be published in the Federal Register by Feb. 27, and would take effect 30 days later.
Jenny Harbine, an attorney with Earthjustice, which represents a coalition of conservation groups, said a 60-day notice of intent to sue would be filed on the day that the rule is published in the Federal Register, as required under the Endangered Species Act.
But she said the coalition would seek an immediate injunction to stop the delisting if the states started allowing a significant number of wolves to be killed.
The court battle could occur in federal court in Missoula, where wolf advocates have filed earlier lawsuits.
Federal officials say the region's wolf population, estimated at 1,500, has recovered enough to be delisted. The government's recovery goal calls for a minimum total population of 300 wolves in the three states.
Ed Bangs, wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said sound science shows the region's wolves have regained enough of a foothold that they no longer need federal protection.
But other scientists say the federal recovery goal severely underestimates the number of wolves needed to maintain a genetically healthy meta-population.
Conservationists say the states' plans would allow widespread wolf killings and that at least 2,000 to 3,000 wolves are needed to establish a self-sustaining population that connects packs in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Wolves in Yellowstone National Park are isolated from those outside the park, they said.
Michael Robinson, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, said ending federal protection would be “biologically disastrous and legally unviable.”
He said the Fish and Wildlife Service is making the same mistake it made in 2003 when a federal court reversed the agency's decision to downgrade wolves' status from endangered to threatened in preparation for ending federal protection.
Suzanne Stone, a spokeswoman for Defenders of Wildlife, said federal officials are making decisions based on outdated science rather than more recent research and a comprehensive review of wolf behavior, biology, habitat needs and interaction with people.
“The states' plans aren't sufficient to ensure wolves' long-term survival,” she said.
By JOHN CRAMER of the Missoulian
Comment online To comment on this story, go to Western Montana 360.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will announce its final decision Thursday on whether gray wolves in the northern Rockies should be removed from the endangered species list.
Federal officials declined to comment Wednesday, but they have previously recommended ending federal protection and turning over wolf management to the states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Conservationists said they would take legal action in an attempt to stop the delisting.
They said the region's wolf population has not fully recovered and the states' management plans, which would allow wolf hunting, would jeopardize the species' survival.
The final rule is scheduled to be announced at 10 a.m. MST by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Wolves were added to the federal endangered species list in 1973 after being hunted to near extinction in the Lower 48 states.
Removing the species from federal protection would be a milestone for one of history's most studied and controversial predators.
The final rule is to be published in the Federal Register by Feb. 27, and would take effect 30 days later.
Jenny Harbine, an attorney with Earthjustice, which represents a coalition of conservation groups, said a 60-day notice of intent to sue would be filed on the day that the rule is published in the Federal Register, as required under the Endangered Species Act.
But she said the coalition would seek an immediate injunction to stop the delisting if the states started allowing a significant number of wolves to be killed.
The court battle could occur in federal court in Missoula, where wolf advocates have filed earlier lawsuits.
Federal officials say the region's wolf population, estimated at 1,500, has recovered enough to be delisted. The government's recovery goal calls for a minimum total population of 300 wolves in the three states.
Ed Bangs, wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said sound science shows the region's wolves have regained enough of a foothold that they no longer need federal protection.
But other scientists say the federal recovery goal severely underestimates the number of wolves needed to maintain a genetically healthy meta-population.
Conservationists say the states' plans would allow widespread wolf killings and that at least 2,000 to 3,000 wolves are needed to establish a self-sustaining population that connects packs in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Wolves in Yellowstone National Park are isolated from those outside the park, they said.
Michael Robinson, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, said ending federal protection would be “biologically disastrous and legally unviable.”
He said the Fish and Wildlife Service is making the same mistake it made in 2003 when a federal court reversed the agency's decision to downgrade wolves' status from endangered to threatened in preparation for ending federal protection.
Suzanne Stone, a spokeswoman for Defenders of Wildlife, said federal officials are making decisions based on outdated science rather than more recent research and a comprehensive review of wolf behavior, biology, habitat needs and interaction with people.
“The states' plans aren't sufficient to ensure wolves' long-term survival,” she said.
