Back to StoriesThe Gray Wolf and a Dogged Pursuit
March 4, 2024
The Gray Wolf and a Dogged Pursuit A coalition of Western environmentalists seeks renewed endangered species status for Western gray wolves
After successful recovery from near regional extinction, the gray wolf finds itself in legal limbo. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided that placing the Western gray wolf back on the endangered species list was "not warranted." Now, the Western Environmental Law Center says it intends to sue. Photo by Jacob W. Frank/NPS
by David
Tucker
Last month
marked the latest chapter in the wolf wars of the West saga, a history
punctuated by massacres, lawsuits, acts of Congress and political
horse-trading. On February 7, the Western Environmental Law Center notified the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of their intent to sue in response to the “not warranted”
decision regarding the relisting of western gray wolves as an endangered species.
In publishing the proposed rule, the Fish and Wildlife Service noted
that “after a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial
data, we find that gray wolves within the [Northern Rocky Mountains] area do
not, on their own, represent a valid listable entity,” and concluded that “the gray wolf in the Western
United States … does not meet the definition of an endangered species or a
threatened species.”
Since its
reintroduction to the Northern Rockies in 1995, the gray wolf has been a
political hot potato that hasn’t cooled off. Based on the success of the
Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan, this nearly eradicated species made
an impressive comeback, establishing packs throughout Montana, Wyoming and
Idaho, and more recently returning to eastern Oregon and Washington, California
and Colorado. As far as conservation stories go, many say this one has been a
triumph.
In fact,
the plan’s results were so impressive that the Fish and Wildlife Service removed
wolves from the endangered species list in 2009, though wildlife biologists and
regional environmentalists disagreed with the action at the time, and
subsequent relistings and delistings throughout the 2010s speak to the
contentiousness of the ongoing issue.
Central to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s determination is the conclusion that the wolf population will avoid regional extirpation within the next 100 years.
As it
stands now, the Fish and Wildlife Service considers the Northern Rocky Mountain
and Western gray wolf populations adequately recovered. Central to the agency’s
determination is the conclusion that the wolf population will avoid regional
extirpation within the next 100 years, one metric by which they measure a
species’ suitability.
According
to the Endangered Species Act, five factors are considered when making this
assessment: “the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of
its habitat or range; overutilization for commercial,
recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; disease or predation; the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued
existence.”
Adequate population size and genetic diversity are critical for the long-term survival of the Western gray wolf. Larger pack sizes also make hunting easier, further ensuring pack success. Photo by Dan Stahler/NPS
“According to our
analysis … wolves in the Western United States are projected to withstand
environmental and demographic stochasticity, increased human-caused mortality,
potential disease events, and changing environmental conditions,” Fish and
Wildlife Service officials wrote in the proposed rule. (Agency representatives
declined additional comment for this article.)
Environmental
groups represented in the potential lawsuit balk at the determination, believing
the Fish and Wildlife Service has performed an inadequate analysis, defying
their own “best available science” mandate. In their notice of intent to sue, lawyers
for the Western Environmental Law Center argue that “the Service’s not
warranted finding largely ignores and/or misinterprets and misconstrues the
best available science on the Western U.S. gray wolf population in at least two
primary ways,” alleging the agency failed to consider relevant genetic diversity research and population size studies.
“We
contend [the Fish and Wildlife Service] didn’t consider all of the best
available science,” said Mike Garrity, executive director with the Alliance for
the Wild Rockies, “mainly by Dr. [Robert] Crabtree and Dr. [Scott] Creel that questions the estimate for
number of wolves in the Northern Rockies.”
Currently in Wyoming, wolves are considered a predator species that can be shot on sight in 85 percent of the state.
While the
determination remains in effect, states continue to administer wolf management
within their respective jurisdictions, as they do for other wildlife species
not listed as endangered. Currently in Wyoming, wolves are considered a
predator species that can be shot on sight in 85 percent of the state, while
hunting and trapping quotas have been established in Idaho and Montana. As of
March 3 of this year, 283 of the 313-wolf quota had been harvested since the
season opened on September 2, 2023.
In its proposed
rule filing, the Fish and Wildlife Service considered these existing regulatory
mechanisms adequate enough to ensure the gray wolf does not go extinct
regionally. Wolf advocates, however, disagree. “We contend there [are not adequate
mechanisms], as evidenced by the massive killing going on in Northern Rockies
states,” Garrity added.
The intent
to sue notice gives the Fish and Wildlife Service 60 days to reassess their
findings and reissue a determination. While Garrity isn’t optimistic about that
outcome, he is confident that science is on the side of the wolves. “Our
attorneys think we have a good case,” Garrity said. “We won in 2012,
overturning delisting, and there are less wolves now.”
For now,
advocates await a response from the agency while preparing for the next chapter
in this ongoing legal odyssey.
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