The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is again considering protections for the gray wolf. Assistant Director of Ecological Services Gary Frazer issued a notice saying the agency will conduct a year-long status review of the wolf after two petitions were filed by environmental groups to put wolves back on the Endangered Species List.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council issued a statement saying wolves have recovered and the review is unnecessary. PLC Director Kaitlynn Glover says she’s disappointed in the decision to move ahead with the review saying, “It is unacceptable for the Service to continue to be held hostage by groups who want nothing more than to turn the Endangered Species Act into a permanent management tool.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service is looking at wolf populations in the west, with much of the focus on Montana and Idaho. So far, it has not begun a similar review process in the Great Lakes states. The agency has also not put any emergency protections for wolves in place yet.
