Feds plan to keep wolves on safe list

BILLINGS – The government is planning to retreat for now from its attempt to take gray wolves in the Northern Rockies off the endangered species list, a federal wildlife official said Tuesday.

Ed Bangs with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the government in the next week expects to withdraw a rule that had declared wolves fully recovered. That rule, issued in March, would have allowed public hunting for the region’s wolves for the first time in decades.

Wildlife agencies in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming already have started preparations for such hunts. But they had been in doubt since July, when U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy blocked the states from going forward pending resolution of a lawsuit by environmentalists.

Meanwhile, the latest population estimates for wolves show their numbers in decline for the first time in more than a decade, to 1,455 animals. That goes against government claims the population was continuing to grow by about 24 percent a year.

“Hopefully they’ll go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan that better protects wolves,” said Earthjustice attorney Doug Honnold. Honnold had filed the lawsuit on behalf of a dozen environmental groups that argued wolves in the region remained in danger of extinction.

The decision to withdraw the recovery rule is subject to approval by the Department of Justice. Molloy also would have to sign off before it could take effect.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kristen Gustafson confirmed she had telephoned parties in the lawsuit on Tuesday to gauge their position on a withdrawal of the government’s rule. She declined to provide details.

In his July injunction against the planned hunts, Judge Molloy raised concerns about whether genetic exchange between wolves – through breeding – was adequate to ensure their continued recovery. If not enough exchange between different populations of wolves is taking place, as one study indicated, wolves could suffer from inbreeding.

Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association, said he feared a withdrawal of the recovery ruling would force Wyoming to revise how it manages wolves. His group intervened in the federal lawsuit on the side of the government and the three states.

“My fear and my real concern is that they will withdraw that decision and then put pressure on the state of Wyoming to change our wolf management plan,” he said.

Bangs, coordinator for the government’s Northern Rockies wolf recovery program, said he still believes there are enough wolves to merit public hunting. But he said the government had failed to explain its reasoning and that Molloy’s concerns would have to be addressed before the government can return with a new proposal to remove federal protections.