Settlement Would De-List Wolves in Montana and Idaho

Wildlife advocates said they plan to file a settlement agreement with the U.S. government in federal court Friday that would take gray wolves off the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho. The deal between ten advocacy groups and the U.S. Department of Interior would allow hunting for the predators to resume in the two states. It would keep wolves under federal protection, for now, in Oregon, Washington, Utah and Wyoming. And it would create a scientific panel to re-examine wolf recovery goals across the six-state Northern Rockies region. Kieran Suckling with the Center for Biological Diversity said political pressure forced environmentalists into the settlement to avoid intervention from Congress. Suckling and others feared that pending bills on wolves could have broadly undermined the Endangered Species Act. However, a split among the plaintiffs in the case has left three groups opposed to the deal, which needs approval from U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula...more

For more complete coverage see Groups file settlement on wolf delisting and you can read the proposed settlement here.


The Western Watersheds Project released a statement listing the reasons why they oppose the settlement:

• The settlement will result in wolves being killed in Idaho and Montana beyond their ability to recover a viable population.

• Western Watersheds Project supports the laws of the United States.  The proposed settlement asks a federal judge to authorize the breaking of federal law.

• The proposed settlement includes no requirements to protect any specific minimum number of wolves in Idaho and Montana.

• Western Watersheds Project does not believe that this proposed settlement will prevent or dissuade Congress from taking legislative action to delist wolves.