Groups Challenge Wolf Killing Plan
Conservation groups said on
Jan. 24 that they will file a lawsuit in federal court immediately to
block a rule by the Bush administration that will allow Idaho, Montana
and Wyoming to kill most of the threatened wolves in the Northern
Rockies.
The new "10(j)” rule widens a loophole in the Endangered Species Act
that permits the killing of hundreds of wolves even though the animals
are considered at risk of extinction. State plans to hunt, trap and
shoot wolves from airplanes threaten to reverse one of the greatest
wildlife recovery stories in U.S. history, according to the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service said it will publish the rule in the Federal Register on
January 28. The rule allows states to kill wolves that they believe are
adversely affecting elk. But elk numbers in the region are at an
all-time high. Despite this fact, the states of Wyoming and Idaho have
made it clear that they intend to manage wolves at the minimum
allowable level, leaving alive as few as 600 of the 1,500 wolves now
living in the region. According to the rule, aerial gunning and
shooting from the ground will be used to kill wolves.
The rule precedes an expected decision to remove wolves from the
endangered species list next month. After that happens, wolf numbers
could be reduced to as few as 300.
The reintroduction of wolves by the federal government 12 years ago
has been widely hailed as a major success story. It has measurably
improved the natural balance in the Northern Rockies and benefited
bird, antelope and elk populations, according to NRDC. Many thousands
of visitors flock to Yellowstone National Park each year to see and
hear wolves in the wild, contributing at least $35 million to the local
economy each year, the group said.
In revising the 10(j) rule, the Fish and Wildlife Service says it
needs to make killing wolves easier to protect big game from wolf
predation. However, current rules already allow wolves to be killed if
the states can show that they are the "primary” cause of elk, moose and
deer depletion. The new rule allows wolves to be killed anywhere big
game herds are considered below desired management levels, even though
studies show that elk populations are particularly high and not in
jeopardy.