Feds, state both have plans in place to deal with gray wolves in Idaho

The on again, off again saga of listing, delisting gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act is on again, at both the federal level and, as a backup, in the state of Idaho as well. On May 4 Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that gray wolves would be taken off the endangered and threatened wildlife list in Idaho, Montana, and parts of Oregon, Washington and Utah. His action came in response to a bill that passed Congress requiring that gray wolves be delisted. Following the 2011 legislative session, Gov. Butch Otter signed House Bill 343, an emergency clause bill that would give the governor executive power for the state to declare gray wolves a problem thus enabling the state to take action against wolves. Otter was encouraged to sign the bill as insurance in case the federal delisting was challenged or, in fact, overturned. Three conservationist groups, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater, and WildEarth Guardians have in fact filed suit in federal court in Montana asking that the delisting be reversed...more