Federal wolf protections in cross hairs

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar convened a closed meeting of Western governors Monday to try to settle on the best way to deal with a burgeoning population of gray wolves in the West. New data show that the gray-wolf population in five Western states tops 2,000, growing this year by at least 17 percent. Federal and state authorities seem to have reached agreement on the need to remove endangered-species protection from wolves so the population can be controlled through hunting, but they still must agree on a healthy target number for wolves. The original goal of the federal wolf-recovery program was to get the population to 300. Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Idaho Gov. Butch Otter "share our goal to de-list the species with a responsible approach guided by science," Salazar said. Those governors have been pressing the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service to turn over wolf management to those states, which would allow hunting to prevent wolves from attacking other wildlife and livestock. Tensions remain high. Federal special agents are investigating suspected illegal killings of wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. Montana's Schweitzer said state and federal officials agree that wolves are fully recovered, that endangered-species protections ought to be removed and that states should manage wolves based on the original federal recovery target number. "Secretary Salazar was optimistic that, with the support of the three governors, he could push Congress to pass legislation that would accomplish the three objectives," Schweitzer said. That original target "is the minimum, of course. ... We would keep a healthy buffer above that number," he said. The latest federal data indicate that at least 2,000 gray wolves roam Western forests, mostly in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Wolves gave birth to about 600 pups this year, continuing their rapid growth over the past 15 years. Wolves also live in Oregon and Washington, with occasional forays into Colorado...more