Gray Wolves Make a Comeback

The gray wolf of Yellowstone National Park has come back! On February 21, the Department of the Interior announced a plan to remove the gray wolf population in the Northern Rockies from the endangered species list. They say its recovery from endangerment is complete.




A Close Call
In the 1930s, a government
program allowed widespread
poisoning of wolves,which
nearly wiped out the
species. .The animal was added to
the list in 1974 after
its population hit an
all-time low. The end-
angered status allows
wolves to be killed,
legally, if they have
attacked livestock.
By the late 1980s,
ranchers and wildlife
agents had legally
killed about 700 wolves.
In 1995, the animals were
facing extinction. That
year, in an effort to give
the population a boost,
officials introduced 66
gray wolves to the Yellowstone
National Park in Idaho, Montana
and Wyoming. Seven years later,
there were more than 600 gray
wolves in the area.. Today,
there are an estimated 1,545.

In the last 20 years, $24 million dollars in federal funds have been spent on bringing the wolf population back. Officials say the population increase is enough to warrant taking the animals off the list. "Gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains are thriving and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act," said Lyle Laverty, deputy secretary for the Department of the Interior. "The wolf's recovery in the Northern Rocky Mountains is a conservation success story."

Good News?
Not everyone agrees. Environmental groups believe that the gray wolf population should have reached at least 2,000 before it lost federal protection. Wildlife protection organizations plan to appeal the decision. But officials stand by their recommendation. "The more of something you have, the less valuable each individual piece becomes," said Ed Bangs, director of wolf recovery for the Fish and Wildlife Service. "If you have more wolves than you have now, it's really going to start causing a lot of problems."

Yellowstone area ranchers and farmer couldn't be happier. Many have lost hundreds of sheep and cattle to the wolves and are hoping the delisting will help them better handle the predators. The number of domestic animals killed by gray wolves has more than doubled since the wolves were reintroduced into the area. "I believe that any wolf on any given night, if there happens to be a calf there, they will kill it," said Randy Petrich, a rancher from Montana. "We need to be trapping them, shooting them--as many as possible." Hunting will be allowed as early as this fall.
Still ProtectedMontana, Idaho and Wyoming all plan to maintain their gray wolf population to be between 900 and 1,250. "The last thing any of the states want is for wolves to be re-listed by the federal government," said Daniel Pletscher, director of the University of Montana's wildlife biology program. The animals will also continue to be monitored by the federal government.

Still Protected
Montana, Idaho and Wyoming all plan to maintain their gray wolf population to be between 900 and 1,250. "The last thing any of the states want is for wolves to be re-listed by the federal government," said Daniel Pletscher, director of the University of Montana's wildlife biology program. The animals will also continue to be monitored by the federal government.