The environmental law firm Earthjustice is calling for the emergency re-listing of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies after Interior Secretary Debra Haaland penned an op-ed in USA Today on the value of wolves. Secretary Haaland notes that the agency is “closely monitoring data on wolf populations and will make those determinations if merited using the best available science.”
Recently, it has been reported that 20 wolves that wandered out of Yellowstone National Park were killed, contributing to more than 200 wolves killed throughout Montana since hunting and trapping seasons opened in the Fall.
In Idaho, more than a dozen conservation groups filed suit in December, arguing that continued wolf trapping also injures, and kills non-target grizzly bears and Canada lynx, which are federally protected species.
Last summer, the State of Idaho created a wolf-trapping season on private property across the state, eliminating limits on the number of wolves one person can kill, and increasing wolf bounties. The rules also permit private-contractor wolf eradication.
A proposal to delist the wolves is currently being evaluated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
