Wolves to Be Removed From Species List

[Greylyn58]

Source: Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. - Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies will be removed from the endangered species list, following a 13-year restoration effort that helped the animal's population soar, federal officials said Thursday.

An estimated 1,500 wolves now roam Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. That represents a dramatic turnaround for a predator that was largely exterminated in the U.S. outside of Alaska in the early 20th century.

"Gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains are thriving and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act," said Interior Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett. "The wolf's recovery in the Northern Rocky Mountains is a conservation success story."

The restoration effort, however, has been unpopular with ranchers and many others in the three states since it began in the mid-1990s, and today some state leaders want the population thinned significantly.

....continued

Read more: http://my.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=20080221/47bd0550_3ca6_1552620080221-248827839

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It's ridiculous that the wolf is being removed from the Endangered Species List. Yes they are doing well, but they still need to be protected. What really ticks me off is that these bastards remove them from the list and then turn around and say it is okay for them to be trapped and hunted!!! :wtf:

What is wrong with these people? :grr:

[Botany]

1. This will allow the sport hurting of wolves

Not just the removal of wolves that prey on livestock but all
outside of national park boundaries.

The return of the wolf has helped elk, bison, hawk, cutthroat trout.
and native plant populations. The introduction of a macro carnivore
into it's native ecosystem is a long term plus ..... but the powers that
be listen to people who have 500,000 cattle grazing on taxpayer
grass for less than the normal cost.

[Bacchus39]

2. absolutely correct, although it is true the population has done quite well

yet it is we humans that determine how far they go.

[provis99]

3. somehow I don't think 1,500 wolves is a large number

especially when they're outnumbered by gun-happy cattle ranchers 50 to 1; and I guarantee you gun happy cattle ranchers have killed more people than wolves have. Look up the Johnson County Range Wars for some enlightenment on that particular subject.

[Bacchus39]

5. its not, but people will ultimately determine what number is "acceptable"

considering the initial reintroduced population was just a dozen or so the population growth and dispersion is quite remarkable. I like that the wolves are back but it will be people who determine how far they go.

[Muttocracy]

9. they also naturally dispersed from Canada into the northern Rockies nt

[Mojorabbit]

10. It will be too low

for genetic diversity I read here earlier. The alpa male and female breed only so if reduced as far as they plan to take it problems may arise. The number to call to voice your opinion is U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at
1-800-344-WILD (9453)

[Bacchus39]

12. perhaps, but there are now numerous separate packs

the next in line beta males and females take on the roles of alphas when the ruling alphas are killed or displaced through a challenge. in a sense, wolve society limits it own genetic diversity by the fact that only the dominants typicall breed. but again, a new dominant male or female will take the place of a deceased alpha.

new packs are started by the dispersion of young subordinate wolves who encounter other dispersers and thus start their own packs as the dominants.

of course the number is low but consider the entire population of wolves was just a dozen or 20 to begin with, lack of genetic diversity is not as critical as in the early stages of the reintroduction.

[balantz]

4. "Momma! Git m' gunn!"

"We's a-gunna get t' take part in a histry makin' extincshun of a evil pre-dator!

[Xipe Totec]

6. Vladimir Vysotskii - Wolf Wunt:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2975862

[Recursion]

7. Err... "endangered" species list? or is this like Pluto?

If Canis familiaris is good enough for Phideaux it's good enough for Akela, by God...

[Muttocracy]

8. well, the Endangered Species List is not supposed to be permanent

Recovery criteria are set, and when they're met, the species are supposed to be removed - otherwise the act is meaningless and easy for conservatives to attack. This is transfer of the species from federal management to state management. If a state screws up, the FWS can step in again.

I had a long post on this elsewhere:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2904296&mesg_id=2904816

[MadHound]

17. The trouble is that their population won't remain stable, or grow

In fact quite the opposite. By taking the wolf off the endangered species list you are essentially giving the green light to ranchers to have an open season on wolves. It has been tough to keep ranchers from blasting wolves out of existence while they were on the list. Now that they're off, ranchers are going to go crazy. Also, it is tough to put a species on the is, and by the time this happens all the progress that was made over the past couple of decades will be lost.

I would rather wolves stay on the list a little long to allow their population to grow and territory to expand rather than taking them off just because of the rules. I'm willing to bet that within two years the population of 1500 will be reduced to a thousand or less.

There are times to go by the book and there are times to toss out the book. This is one of the latter.

[Greylyn58]

21. Absolutely agree with your statement n/t

[idovoodoo]

11. We can't just let nature run wild! (That's an actual quote from a Republican some years ago)

Some people here will remember it, I bet.

[HuffleClaw]

13. disgusting

haven't they done this exact thing with other species? and got slapped down by the courts iirc.

[xxqqqzme]

14. darth cheney is having

his guns cleaned, as we post, in anticipation of killin' a wolf released from some pen.

[leftchick]

15. Help Defenders of Wildlife Help the Wolves

http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/wolves/

http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/ads_and_psas/tv_ad_to_stop_aerial_hunting.php

[DissentIsPatriotic]

16. Unfortunately, this great success has had a negative effect

on the already terribly endangered big cat population in the area.

[rosesaylavee]

18. Miserable asses.

I hope * doesn't want to spend a whole lot of time in this country after what he's done the last 8 years. No community will want him. I don't think the good folks in Paraguay want him either.

[Greylyn58]

20. Isn't that the truth!

I've never seen one man who has spread so much death and destruction among both humans and animals. He is a total ghoul!!

[doodadem]

19. From Defenders of Wildlife

Today, the Bush/Cheney Administration is eliminating vital federal protections for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies, allowing state officials to kill up to 1,200 wolves. Please help support our Yellowstone Wolf Legal Defense Fund to stop the massacre.

Our Plan to Save Wolves

Today the Bush/Cheney Administration is officially eliminating vital federal protections for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.

Defenders of Wildlife’s legal experts are preparing for a long, hard court battle ahead. Our on-the-ground staff in the Northern Rockies continues to work night and day to stop outrageous state plans that would bring wolves back to the brink of extinction. And staff and supporters across the country are mobilizing to save our wolves.

We need your help. Please donate $50.00, $30.00 or whatever you can afford

Things have gone from bad to worse for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.

Today, the Bush/Cheney Administration is stripping these amazing animals of vital federal protections, officially opening the door to the shooting, trapping, and killing of up to 1,200 wolves.

We can’t let that happen. Donate $50.00, $30.00 or whatever you can afford today and help support our Yellowstone Wolf Legal Defense Fund and on-the-ground efforts to protect wolves and other wildlife.

Under existing state management plans -- plans approved by the Bush Administration -- all but 300 hundred wolves could be killed. That’s 80% of the wild wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies!

As I wrote last month, federal officials already made it easier to kill wolves while they were still protected under the Endangered Species Act. Now they’re taking the final step, and eliminating these federal protections altogether.

Idaho officials want to use aerial gunning to kill wolves in their state. Wyoming agencies have left the door open to the use of traps and poison to eliminate wolves. And officials in both states -- and Montana -- have proposed wolf hunts.

States could start the killing by the end of March. Please make a tax-deductible emergency donation right now and help support our work to save these wolves.

More than a decade ago, caring wildlife supporters just like you helped Defenders lead the fight to return these majestic animals to Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.

With your support, we’ve stopped earlier attempts by the Bush Administration to eliminate federal protections for these wolves. We’ve taken on wolf opponents in the Farm Bureau who wanted to kill these majestic animals… and won. We’ve pioneered innovative strategies to help humans and wolves co-exist and built powerful coalitions to advocate for common-sense wolf management.

Now we need your help to save them again.

To fund our ongoing legal work, on-the-ground advocacy efforts and proactive conservation programs to save wolves and other wildlife, we need to raise at least $125,000 by March 20th.

Your tax-deductible donation of $50.00, $30.00 or whatever you can afford will help us meet this goal and provide the essential resources we need to win this fight and save wolves.

The battle to save our wolves is one that we can, must and will win. But we can only do it with your help.

Sincerely,

Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. To help support our efforts, please make a secure donation online or call 1-800-385-9712 to donate over the phone.

Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities.

Defenders of Wildlife can be contacted at:
1130 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036