A coalition of 70 conservation, Indigenous, and animal welfare groups have filed a formal petition with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to re-list the gray wolf as an endangered species throughout the American West under the Endangered Species Act. The re-listing petition comes after new laws were passed in Idaho and Montana to significantly reduce wolf populations, which the groups maintain would be below biologically appropriate levels.
Erik Molvar, a wildlife biologist, and Executive Director of Western Watersheds Project says, “This petition gives Secretary Haaland and Interim Director Williams a legal and scientific blueprint for restoring federal protections and counteracting the irresponsible state policies in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.”
Wildlife authorities in Montana said this year they expect the state’s wolf population to decrease from around 1,150 to between 900 and 950 following a particularly successful hunting season. Meanwhile, the population in Idaho has held steady at 1500 over the past two years despite hunters killing and trapping about 500 wolves each year.
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