Many fear that wolves will end up right back on the endangered species list
(03/28/2008) - WASHINGTON
D.C. – Today, the
decision by the Bush administration to remove the Northern
Rockies gray wolf from the
list of species protected under the Endangered Species Act goes into effect.
The stripping of
federal protections from the gray wolf places its continued survival in the
Northern
Rockies at the mercy of the
insufficient and at times aggressively hostile state management plans developed
by Wyoming,
Idaho and to a lesser
extent Montana.
Wyoming’s plan in particular
calls for dramatic reductions in the state’s wolf population with little to no
justification for the removal of wolves by any means necessary. Starting today, wolves can now be shot
on sight for no reason in 88% of Wyoming – at least five wolf
packs live in the shoot-on-site zone, and 10 more packs may drift in and out of
this area. Idaho continues to send
mixed messages regarding its commitment to ensuring a future for the gray wolf
within its borders.
“This is a major setback for both wolves and the
spirit of coexistence and conservation in the West,” said Suzanne Stone,
Northern
Rockies wolf
conservationist for Defenders of Wildlife, who has spent the last twenty years
working to restore wolves in the region. “Intentionally vague language in the
Idaho and Wyoming management plans means that wolves can be killed
without justification. We risk ending
up right back where we started, with wolves back on the endangered species list
and under federal control.”
The current state
management plans permit wolf populations in the Northern Rockies to dramatically decline, eliminating any
likelihood of establishing connections with Canadian wolf populations or
promoting the establishment of wolf populations in other states such as
Oregon, Washington, Utah and Colorado.
“It’s taken 13 years of
hard work to finally reach the point where wolves are beginning to expand into
more of their historic range in Utah, Colorado and Oregon. Delisting at this
point threatens all that progress,” said Stone. “Living with wolves is part of
life in the West. If people could just see past the pervasive fear-mongering
they would find that people, wildlife and livestock can coexist just
fine."
Background:
More than 200,000 gray wolves (Canis lupus) once lived throughout the
United
States. Aggressive wildlife killing campaigns led to
wolf eradication from most of the country by the mid-1930s. Gray wolves have
been listed as endangered since 1974, and were reintroduced to
Yellowstone National
Park and
Central
Idaho in 1995 and 1996.
Wolves are native to the northern
Rockies and have begun once again to restore natural
balance to the areas they are reoccupying, by culling weak and diseased elk,
deer, and other prey, and dispersing elk more widely across their habitat and
away from sensitive wetlands and meadows that suffer from overbrowsing. Elk
populations still remain high, (more than 400,000 elk are present today in the
region) and hunter harvest success remains as high as it was prior to the return
of wolves. Ranchers are also successfully learning to reduce the limited wolf
predation on livestock to manageable levels and are compensated for most known
losses that do occur by Defenders or state compensation programs. Wolf-related
tourism in the Yellowstone region has generated more than $35 million
annually for local communities.
Learn more about what Defenders is doing to help the Northern Rockies wolf.
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Defenders
of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in
their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and
activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative
solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit
www.defenders.org.
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Contact(s):
Suzanne Stone, (208)424-9385 (office), (208)861-4655 (cell)
Mike Leahy, (406)586-3970
Erin McCallum, (202)772-3217