New proposal would ease wolf protections

Wyoming not part of the plan

Wolves are once again on a path toward delisting in Montana and Idaho - but not Wyoming.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday announced a new rule for delisting to be published in the Federal Register next week, starting a 30-day countdown toward being removed from full protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The proposal applies to wolf populations in the Western Great Lakes region and the Northern Rocky Mountains, with the exception of Wyoming.

"The subpopulation of wolves in Wyoming is not being removed from the ESA at this time," Assistant Interior Secretary Lyle Laverty said in a conference call with media. Laverty said Wyoming's wolf management plan "is not sufficient" in its protections for wolves to warrant delisting in that state.

Added Rowan Gould, acting director of the Fish and Wildlife Service: "We have determined that … we cannot approve Wyoming's wolf management plan as currently written."

Montana wildlife officials welcomed the federal government's second attempt at delisting the Northern Rockies population.

"Most everyone in Montana agrees the wolf population here is firmly established and secure," said Joe Maurier, acting director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "Montanans have been patient and cooperative during the recovery process and with recent court rulings. We're pleased Montana's been recognized for its efforts and can now move forward with the full transition to state-led wolf management."

With delisting, Montana has a quota-based wolf hunting season ready to begin in tandem with the fall big game hunting season. And the delisting will allow livestock owners to kill wolves if they are seen killing, attacking or harassing livestock.

Ed Jonas, a rancher from the Rollins area who lost two heifers to wolves last year, was excited about the delisting announcement.

"This will renew the faith of ranchers and farmers and hunters in terms of the government balancing our interests with the interests of wildlife," Jonas said. "At least our government did what they are supposed to do. Now the question is what the courts will do."

Some conservation groups said that the delisting is a politically motivated move, coming just before the Obama administration takes office, and there were predictable promises of continuing litigation.

"This blatantly political maneuver is hardly surprising," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. "The Bush administration has been trying to strip Endangered Species Act protections from the Northern Rockies wolf since the day it took office - no matter the dire consequences of delisting wolves prematurely and without adequate state protections in place."

The Interior officials insisted that delisting was on track regardless of the administration in office.

"It was because this species had met, had indeed exceeded, its recovery goals," said Lynn Scarlett, deputy Interior secretary. "We would hope that if the data and evidence is there to support the decision, that the next administration would not turn around and go in the other direction."

Wolves were delisted last year, but the decision was challenged by 11 environmental groups and, in September, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula issued a ruling that halted the delisting. The service withdrew the delisting plan to revise it and address concerns raised by the court.

The revised delisting rule, for instance, attempts to address questions about the long-term genetic connectivity among wolves across the Northern Rockies.

"The judge had concerns about our recovery goals 'related to] genetic connectivity," said Ed Bangs, the wildlife service's wolf recovery coordinator. "We've done that and we've addressed it in the rule … It seems like we completely addressed the genetic issues the court had."

But lawsuits challenging the delisting are likely.

"We intend to challenge this poorly constructed decision in court as soon as the law allows," Schlickeisen vowed.

"This move is in clear opposition to previous Department of Interior policy which stated that the wolf population in the region must be considered together and could not be broken up on a state-by-state basis," the Natural Resources Defense Council claimed.

The Interior officials said they were confident in their authority to separate Wyoming. Bangs noted that Northwest Montana wolves have had a fully "endangered" status while Yellowstone area wolves have had a different, "experimental" status.

Gould summed up one of the reasons for allowing delisting to proceed in Idaho and Montana: "Basically, we're trying to provide some incentives to the states that have stepped up and done what we've asked them to do. It's basically, for lack of a better word, to reward the states that have done what we've asked them to do."

The minimum recovery goal for wolves in the Northern Rockies was 30 breeding pairs and a minimum of 300 individual wolves for at least three consecutive years throughout the overall recovery area. That goal was achieved in 2002 and wolf numbers have increased every year since.

Conservative counts indicate the Northern Rockies has about 1,500 wolves and 100 breeding pairs.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com