Panel challenges the government’s attempt to lift wolf protections

On Friday, an independent review panel accused the government of depending on disputable science to lift federal protections for gray wolves across the nation, which is a serious hindrance for the case. Federal wildlife officials aim to cross gray wolves of the list of endangered species in the Lower 48 states, save for a small community in the Southwest. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the peer review panel consisting of five members, was asked to examine the government’s allegation that the Northeast and Midwest were inhabited by a separate species, the eastern wolf. If the government were correct, that would mean gray wolf recovery is unneeded in those regions. But the peer review panel collectively debunked the government’s scientific research. That could make it challenging for federal officials to continue their current proposal, further prolonging the controversial debate over what parts of the country are appropriate for hunting. “The process was clean and the results were unequivocal,” said scientist Steven Courtney, one of the five panel members. “The science used by the Fish and wildlife service concerning genetics and taxonomy of wolves was preliminary and currently not the best available science.”...more