Wolverine Listing Won’t Affect Human Activities

The listing of the wolverine as “threatened” under the endangered species act will not bring changes to human activity or land use according to a spokesperson for Defenders of Wildlife.  The listing was published earlier this week in the Federal Register.  Kylie Paul with Defenders of Wildlife says there are fewer than 300 wolverines left in the lower 48 states – mostly in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington.  Paul says she hopes the listing will bring more attention to the plight of the wolverine.  Paul says, “A lot of people don’t know what a wolverine is because there are so few of them, and because they’re in such mountainous terrain. Bringing the wolverine into the light will be really important because climate change is their primary threat.”  Paul says wolverines need deep snowpack that lasts into mid-spring for denning – digging snow caves up to fifteen feet deep before producing young. Paul says scientists predict that wolverines in the lower 48 are likely to lose up to two-thirds of their snow-covered habitat by the end of this century due to climate change.