FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wolves Face New Threats as Federal Protections Stripped

Plans to exterminate hundreds of wolves set to move forward, Oregon wolves at risk

Federal delisting could mean hundreds of wolves killed across region and limited protections for wolves in Oregon.

This wolf was killed in Idaho during the 2008 delisting. Over 100 wolves were shot during the one month period before a court restored protections for wolves.

For the second time in just over a year, gray wolves have been removed from the Endangered Species Act list of protected animals. Today’s notice in the Federal Register finalizes a decision made in April by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and opens the door for widespread hunting and killing of wolves throughout the Northern Rockies region. During a 30-day period last March when the species lost federal protections, over 100 wolves were killed. Twelve conservation organizations, represented by Earthjustice, have filed notice of intent to defend wolves in court.

“Rather than pursuing real solutions for living with wolves, Secretary Salazar has signed off on a policy that would bring the species right back to the edge of extinction,” said Sean Stevens, a spokesperson for Oregon Wild, one of the groups challenging the delisting in court. “Here in Oregon we have a state management plan for wolves, but if rampant killing is allowed in Idaho and across the region we might not have any wolves to manage in few years.”

Both Idaho and Montana have announced wolf hunting seasons with quotas yet to be set. Additionally, Idaho wildlife officials have announced a plan to exterminate over two dozen entire wolf packs. In total, state management plans could allow 1,000 wolves to be killed out of a total wolf population of approximately 1,600.

Oregon has slowly built a small wolf population since the species began naturally moving into the state from neighboring Idaho in 1999. Wolf recovery progress in Oregon has twice been slowed by the illegal shooting and killing of wolves. Fewer than a dozen wolves are believed to be roaming the far northeastern reaches of the state. Despite this modest population, livestock producers are already lobbying the state legislature for the authority to kill endangered wolves. Current state law prohibits the killing of a gray wolf without a permit.

“Fifty years ago we killed every single wolf in the state,” added Stevens. “Now, with just a handful of wolves back in Oregon, some people have this knee jerk reaction to want to kill them again.”

Today’s delisting is similar to a plan announced in the waning days of the Bush administration. The rule allows Idaho and Montana to pursue state management of wolves while retaining federal protections for the species in Wyoming. The move was prompted by a July 2008 ruling by District Judge Donald Molloy. In his ruling, Judge Molloy pointed to the inadequacy of Wyoming’s state management plan as a replacement for federal protections. Legal experts have questioned the legality of the decision to decide protections for gray wolves on a state by state basis, saying that the Endangered Species Act does not allow it.

Once common in Oregon, wolves were hunted to extinction by the 1940s as part of a concerted effort to shoot, trap or poison every wolf in the western United States. In 1974, wolves were protected as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act. In July 2008, wolf biologists discovered the first resident wolf pack in Oregon in over 60 years. The species is expected to expand into tens of thousands of acres of roadless backcountry habitat in Oregon if adequate protections remain in place.

Background on wolves in Oregon and previous court rulings can be found here.

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