May 4, 2009: Wolves off the Endangered Species List

BILLINGS, Mont. — Wolves in parts of the Northern Rockies and the Great Lakes region come off the endangered species list today — opening the way for public hunting of the animals to begin in some states this fall.

But prior attempts to remove federal protection for the predators have been rejected by judges and new legal challenges are certain.

Gray wolves were listed as endangered in 1974, after they had been wiped out across the lower 48 states by hunting and government-sponsored poisoning…

About 300 wolves in Wyoming will remain on the list. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rejected the state’s plan for a “predator zone” where wolves could be shot on sight across 88 percent of the state…

“We understand that hunting is part of wildlife policy in the West,” said Anne Carlson with the Western Wolf Coalition. “(But) wolves should be managed like native wildlife and not as pests to be exterminated.” - Copyright © 2009 The Spokesman-Review

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