Wolves will roam wild again in Yellowstone National
Park and central Idaho as early as fall. Although 60,000 people
opposed wolf reintroduction, 100,000 people told the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service they supported its draft environmental impact
statement for wolf recovery. Ed Bangs, project leader for the
agency in Missoula, Mont., said many people commented they wanted
more protection for wolves. “They thought we had bent over backward
to protect ranchers,” Bangs told the Idaho Falls Post Register. The
10 breeding pairs released in each area will be designated an
experimental population and therefore won’t receive full protection
under the Endangered Species Act. If they leave their boundaries
and prey upon livestock, ranchers can harass wolves in a
“noninjurious manner” or even kill them (HCN,
7/26/93).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Wolves get green light.
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