Earlier this week, federal protections were reinstated for gray wolves in Wyoming!
We’d like to share this really good coverage of the issue from Living With Wolves:
“The federal Endangered Species Act will again protect wolves in Wyoming, at least until the state delivers a responsible management plan. Our hope is that Wyoming will deliver a very responsible management plan. But, as it stands, so far the three states of the Northern Rockies, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, have yet to demonstrate the willingness to manage wolves in a responsible and sustainable manner.
“In 2012, the management of the gray wolf in Wyoming was transferred from federal to state control. Wyoming labeled the wolf a trophy-game animal in the areas immediately surrounding Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and a predator in the remainder of the state, an area representing 83% of Wyoming. In these areas, it was allowable to kill wolves on sight, without limit or need for a license. Wolves went from a federally protected endangered species to being treated as “vermin” in the vast majority of Wyoming, literally overnight. Now it appears, such extreme management will be corrected.
“U.S. District Court Judge, Amy Berman Jackson, has taken the management of wolves out of the hands of the state of Wyoming. Although she did not change wolves status to “endangered,” she did declare the state’s management plan inadequate and unenforceable.
“This very important development for wolves will hopefully send a message to other states with poor wolf management practices that they need to manage wolves as valuable assets to the ecosystem, not as “vermin” to be killed. Let’s hope this landmark decision is the beginning of a new wave of protections or sustainable and responsible management for wolves in the United States.
[info credit: Living With Wolves and NY Times]