Colorado wolves would have protection of Endangered Species Act

Wolves don't have pockets, so they can't carry their legal status around when they travel. That's raised some points to ponder since the controversial predators allegedly arrived in Colorado this week. While authorities in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming argue whether wolves should be hunted or not, stepping across the Colorado state line restores fully protected status for those wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act. Of course, biologists still must confirm wolves have made it to the Centennial State. What does mean something is, literally, where a specific wolf stands. The same animal today would be an out-of-season "species in need of management" in Montana, a huntable "trophy game animal" in Idaho, and a federally protected "experimental species" in Wyoming. Should that wolf wander all the way to Colorado, it would be federally endangered and given full protection of the law. The situation is similar to a pack that lives on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Bangs said. On the Minnesota side, the pack is threatened, but on the Wisconsin side it's endangered. That's so humans on either side of the border know exactly what rules apply...read more