Federal officials have denied petitions to restore endangered species protections to gray wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Conservation groups are threatening to sue over the decision.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains no longer constitute a distinct population from wolves in other western states, so they don’t need their own protections.
The agency said the population at large is not at risk of extinction, even under a “substantial increase” of hunting in Idaho and Montana.
Kristine Ackland is a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of dozens of conservation groups that petitioned the service to relist wolves. She said federal officials improperly minimize hunting risks faced by the northern Rockies population.
“Their analysis basically dilutes the status in the northern Rocky Mountains,” Ackland said.
A number of conservation groups released statements that they’re considering further legal action in the wake of the decision.
The Fish and Wildlife Service also announced that it will draft a National Recovery Plan for gray wolves by December 2025.
The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Montana wildlife managers are allowing hunters to kill a record number of wolves this season. Supporters of the policy say the practice helps reduce livestock losses to wolves. New research indicates that's not necessarily the case. -
Wildlife managers this week decided to increase this year's wolf hunting and trapping quota by more than 100 animals and change how wolf hunting regions are divided. -
State wildlife officials will take up a proposal Thursday to overhaul hunting regulations in order to reduce wolf numbers statewide. But locals near Yellowstone National Park say the proposal would impact the region’s vulnerable wolf population and the economy built around it. -
A federal judge Tuesday ordered wildlife managers to reevaluate whether wolves should be placed back under federal protections. -
Wildlife managers earlier this month proposed new hunting and trapping regulations that could cut the state’s wolf population in half.
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Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has published its final statewide wolf management plan. This is the final step in updating the 22 year-old document that guides how the agency manages wolves.
