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Environmental Groups Sue to Keep the Gray Wolf Endangered
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Fearing that the gray wolf will be devastated by unchecked hunting, activists are suing the U.S. government for taking the species off the endangered list.
30-Second Summary
On March 28, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service removed the gray wolves living in the northern Rockies from the endangered species list. The move means that the state governments of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana are now responsible for managing the animals.
The delisting came after complaints from ranchers that the wolves had been attacking and killing their livestock.
However, environmental and animal rights groups say those states don't have adequate laws to protect the wolves. As a result, a dozen environmental groups sued the federal government Monday to reverse the delisting.
Since the gray wolves were placed on the endangered species list in 1972, and 66 wolves were reintroduced to central Idaho and the Yellowstone National Park area in 1995, the population has risen to approximately 1,500 wolves.
State officials argue that they can maintain wolf populations despite the fact that in many areas the animals can now be shot at will.
In fact, wolf coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Carolyn Sime suggests that “public hunting will develop a strong hunter constituency that advocates for wolves politically and helps protect and improve habitat, just as hunters do now for other animals like deer, elk and mountain lions,” according to Rocky Mountain online news source NewWest.net.
But opponents to the delisting contend that unchecked hunting will undo the monumental gains and return the species to the brink of extinction. The Center for Biological Diversity says, “The states have failed to keep track of recent wolf killings and also neglected to secure funding for essential monitoring and conservation efforts.”
The delisting came after complaints from ranchers that the wolves had been attacking and killing their livestock.
However, environmental and animal rights groups say those states don't have adequate laws to protect the wolves. As a result, a dozen environmental groups sued the federal government Monday to reverse the delisting.
Since the gray wolves were placed on the endangered species list in 1972, and 66 wolves were reintroduced to central Idaho and the Yellowstone National Park area in 1995, the population has risen to approximately 1,500 wolves.
State officials argue that they can maintain wolf populations despite the fact that in many areas the animals can now be shot at will.
In fact, wolf coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Carolyn Sime suggests that “public hunting will develop a strong hunter constituency that advocates for wolves politically and helps protect and improve habitat, just as hunters do now for other animals like deer, elk and mountain lions,” according to Rocky Mountain online news source NewWest.net.
But opponents to the delisting contend that unchecked hunting will undo the monumental gains and return the species to the brink of extinction. The Center for Biological Diversity says, “The states have failed to keep track of recent wolf killings and also neglected to secure funding for essential monitoring and conservation efforts.”
Headline Link: ‘Hunters, Activists Face-off Over Wolf Hunts’
In Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, 59 gray wolves have been killed so far this year, as compared to 19 killed by the same time last year. "There will be opportunistic shooting 365 days a year. This will become a continual black hole for wolves," said Franz Camenzind of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, which is part of the lawsuit.
Source: MSNBC
Background: The road to the lawsuit
An April 13, 2008, New York Times article outlines the delisting debate that preceded the April 28 federal court challenge. The paper describes it as a “a fierce battle of perceptions and posturing has unfolded on the Web and in the news media as pro-wolf and anti-wolf forces stake out sometimes hyperbolic positions concerning where in the West animals and humans should exist.”
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
Yellowstone News provides the viewpoints of both sides of the gray wolf. Jeff Hagener, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said, "It's important to understand that wolves are now an official part of the Montana wildlife environment … The wolf will be managed like Montana's other wildlife species." However, Sierra Club representative Melanie Stein said, “The state plans are based on politics rather than the best available science. They treat wolves as pests, rather than as a valuable wildlife resource.”
Source: Yellowstone News
Opinion & Analysis: The pros and cons of delisting the gray wolf
Against delisting
John Harrigan, columnist for New Hampshire newspaper the Union Leader, argues against hunting the wolves because he doesn’t think “wolves in the West are at the point where they ‘need’ to be controlled, as if they would ever ‘need’ to be anyway.” He goes on to say, “Trees, for instance, don't need to be cut; we cut them because we want and need to, for the wood and the money.”
Source: Union Leader
The Center for Biological Diversity published a press release on April 28, declaring its opposition to the engendered species delisting of the wolves. According to the Center, “Delisting further endangers wolves because of increased wolf killing, reduced wolf numbers, and less genetic exchange between wolf populations.”
Source: Center for Biological Diversity
For delisting
Douglas Gantenbein argues, “By all means, let the ranchers protect their cattle. We didn't reintroduce wolves so they could eat beef … If the wolf can obtain the status of prized big-game trophy—and many think it can—it will have the most powerful ally of any animal in America: the hunter.”
Source: Outside Online
An article from New West analyzes the idea of conserving the species through hunting. The article writes that Carolyn Sime, wolf coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, “believes public hunting will develop a strong hunter constituency that advocates for wolves politically and helps protect and improve habitat, just as hunters do now for other animals like deer, elk and mountain lions.”
Source: NewWest.com
Reference: Defenders of Wildlife
Defenders of Wildlife is one of the parties suing the government. The organization’s Web site describes its past and present efforts to protect the gray wolf population in the United States.
Source: Defenders of Wildlife
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