The federal government has declared its wolf
recovery program a success. With wolf numbers at nearly 3,500 today
– up from practically zero in the 1950s – the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service proposed on July 11 to downlist the gray wolf from
“endangered” to “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act in
most of the West. The new rule doesn’t affect reintroduced
populations.
Under the proposed threatened status
for the West, landowners could harass wolves into leaving their
property or kill wolves in the act of injuring livestock or guard
animals. These actions are now punishable by a fine of up to
$100,000 or one year in prison.
“We are hoping
for less agency control to help build public acceptance (of
wolves),” says Ed Bangs, the agency’s Western wolf recovery
coordinator.
But conservationists like David
Gaillard of the Predator Conservation Alliance in Bozeman, Mont.,
say the downlisting could endanger the entire wolf recovery
program. Gaillard points to northwestern Montana, where five
breeding pairs were estimated in 1999 – only half of the
government’s goal for that area. Still, the area is proposed for
downlisting, because the agency argues that the entire Northern
Rockies region has enough wolves.
National
Wildlife Federation attorney Tom France is disappointed that the
service wants to drop wolves entirely from the list in California
and Nevada, where officials say the animals have little chance of
recovery. He says, “The Fish and Wildlife Service and all Americans
should imagine a day when wolves roam from the Canadian border to
the Mexican border.”
Until Nov. 10, comments on
the wolf proposal can be sent to: Content Analysis Enterprise Team,
Wolf Comments, 200 East Broadway, P.O. Box 7669, Room 301,
Missoula, MT 59807, or e-mailed to graywolfcomments@fws.gov,
or faxed to 406/329-3021. Information on the proposal can be found
at midwest.-fws.gov/wolf.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Government writes wolf success story.
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