Top Wolf Experts Excluded from Scientific Review of Wolf Delisting Proposal

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week disqualified many of the nation’s leading wolf researchers from participating in the scientific peer review of the agency’s proposal to end federal protections for gray wolves across most of the lower 48 states. The scientists are being excluded from the peer review, which is required for all proposals to give or remove protection to species, because they signed a lettercalling into question some of the science behind an advanced version of the proposal that was leaked to the press. In total, 16 leading wolf scientists signed the letter and are excluded from the review. “The future of wolf recovery in the United States is at stake here and the Fish and Wildlife Service ought to be seeking advice from the very best wolf experts we have,” said Brett Hartl, endangered species policy director with the Center for Biological Diversity. “This is like a hospital excluding its top doctors from deciding on the best way to save a patient’s life.” Peer review is critical in ensuring that federal protections are not lifted before a species is fully recovered. In the case of the wolf, the Fish and Wildlife Service is contracting with a private company to conduct the peer review. Recognizing their scientific expertise, the contractor hired for the review contacted several of the signers to the letter to participate in the review, including Dr. John Vucetich, Dr. Robert Wayne and Dr. Roland Kays, but then at the direction of the agency rescinded the invitations. Fish and Wildlife arguesthat these scientists have an unacceptable “affiliation with an advocacy position.”...more