contributed by Matt Kirby
On Friday, a judge of Federal District Court in Montana returned to the gray wolf its status and protection as an endangered species. In a region where National Parks and National Forest coexist side-by-side with ranchers and their livestock, the gray wolf has always been a source of
controversy and caused deep divisions. But three days ago the judge, Donald W. Molloy, raised himself above the politics and the squabbles and looked at the evidence (or should I say the lack of evidence) that led the Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the wolf. Deciding that their decision was arbitrarily made, he granted a preliminary injunction to stop the killing that had already begun.
The gray wolf was once a widespread and integral part of most North American ecosystems, ranging from central Mexico to the Arctic. By the 1930s, however, this charismatic animal had been hunted to the brink of extinction in the American West. In 1974 they were listed as endangered. Since then, the federal government has spent close to $30 million dollars to aid their recovery. And beginning in 1995, a small group was reintroduced to central Idaho and Yellowstone. Since then, the
LATimes reports that their population had reached 1,513 in the northern Rockies as of early 2008.
In March of this year, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cowardly bowed to special interests and ignored the vocal outcry of both the public and biologists. Despite
overwhelming opposition, they de-listed the wolf and set in motion a slaughter that to date has already taken the lives of 100 wolves. 500 more were slated to be killed this autumn had Molloy not stepped in with the injunction.
The injunction can be reversed and the struggle will likely continue in the courts. But, at least for a brief respite, the wolf is legally protected.
For more information:
on this decision -
NYTimeson endangered species –
Sierra Club
Molloy is my hero! The injunction came in the nick of time for the first confirmed pack of wolves with pups in Oregon since the last bounty was paid in the mid 1940’s. On Monday, July 21st, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife posted on their website that wildlife biologists conducting howling surveys in Northeastern Oregon heard the howls of at least two adults and two pups simultaneously. Wolves from the Idaho releases have made the swim across the Snake River, and they desperately need the federal protection afforded by Judge Molloy in the cattle culture communities of Eastern Oregon, Welcome back Oregon Wolves, long may you run!
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