ENDANGERED SPECIES --  A coalition of 29 pro-wolf organizations says it submitted 101,416  comments today to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service favoring continued protection for wolves under the Endangered Species Act.

Members of the Pacific Wolf Coalition say they have organized in response to the Obama administration’s plan to strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves. They say the comments on behalf of the coalition’s members and supporters in the Pacific West are among a million comments collected nationwide expressing Americans’ disapproval of the Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to remove federal protections from gray wolves across most of the continental United States.

“The gray wolf is one of the most iconic creatures of the American landscape and wolves play a vital role in America’s wilderness and natural heritage,” said Pamela Flick, California representative of Defenders of Wildlife. “Californians, Oregonians and Washingtonians want to see healthy wolf populations in the Pacific West. In fact, recent polling clearly demonstrates overwhelming support for efforts to restore wolves to suitable habitat in our region. Removing protections would be ignoring the voices of the majority.”

Read on for a list of the groups in the coalition.

The Pacific Wolf Coalition represents 29 wildlife conservation, education and protection organizations in California, Oregon and Washington committed to wolf recovery:

California Wilderness Coalition - California Wolf Center - Cascadia Wildlands - Center for Biological Diversity - Conservation Northwest - Defenders of Wildlife - Endangered Species Coalition - Environmental Protection Information Center - Gifford Pinchot Task Force - Greenfire Productions - Hells Canyon Preservation Council - Humane Society of the U.S. - Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center - Living with Wolves - National Parks Conservation Association - Natural Resources Defense Council - Northeast Oregon Ecosystems - Oregon Sierra Club - Oregon Wild - Predator Defense - Project Coyote - Sierra Club - Sierra Club California - Sierra Club Washington State Chapter - The Larch Company - Western Environmental Law Center - Western Watersheds Project - Wildlands Network - Wolf Haven International