ACTION ALERT: FROM FRIENDS OF THE CLEARWATER

Northern Rocky Grey Wolf Settlement

Submitted by foc on Tue, 03/22/2011 – 3:28pm

2011-03-22

According to the Associated Press and Lewiston Morning Tribune, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) has reached an agreement with ten conservation groups to de-list wolf populations in Idaho and Montana, while maintaining, for the time being, federal protection for wolves in Washington, Oregon, Wyoming and Utah. These ten organizations were some of the groups involved in a lawsuit that won protection for wolves Iast year.  Under this agreement, a 2011 hunt would be permitted in Idaho and Montana, the USFWS would stay involved in monitoring wolf populations in both states, and an independent scientific panel would be established to review the outdated recovery goal of 300 wolves in the Northern Rockies. The settlement includes no requirements to protect any specific minimum number of wolves in Idaho and Montana.

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Western Watersheds Project and Friends of the Clearwater are not part of this settlement even though we were involved in the conservation group lawsuit that won protection for wolves Iast year. In August 2010, Judge Molloy correctly placed Northern Rocky grey wolves back on the Endangered Species list because, under the Endangered Species Act, imperiled wildlife populations cannot be de-listed according to state boundaries. We will continue to work toward wolf recovery according to the law, not political threats. Instead, we have retained attorneys to ask U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy to stand by his decision and deny the settlement. In any case, this settlement can’t guarantee that Congress will not pass legislation that would permanently de-list grey wolves from the Endangered Species list.

We greatly appreciate the continued support from citizens around the country. Don’t hesitate to call our office (208) 882-9755 if you have questions or concerns. If you like to blog, consider visiting Howling For Justice: https://howlingforjustice.wordpress.com/.

Other groups, like Defenders of Wildlife, who was a party to the settlement, are looking for feedback as well. Here is a link to comment:
http://action.defenders.org/site/Survey?SURVEY_ID=23162&ACTION_REQUIRED=….

http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.org/node/1040

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Please Support Friends of the Clearwater.  They are not part of this settlement and are working to keep wolves protected in the Northern Rockies!

http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.org/node/1040

Photo: Courtesy of kewlwallpapers.com

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Action Alerts

Tags: Friends of the Clearwater, gray wolf, Montana and Idaho wolves, settlement puts wolves in jeopardy