HOT TOPICS

December 5, 2008 - Selkirk Mountain Caribou Population 5 Year Review - The Selkirk Mountain Caribou Population 5 Year Review is now available for public review. Completing a process that began in April, 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used the best commercial and scientific information available. The 5 year review determined that no change in the current status is needed. Recommendations include:

1 - Work with State and private landowners to incorporate caribou habitat
management guidelines into their timber management operations.
2 - Work with Federal, State and private landowners, Tribes, the BC government and
the public to address the impacts of winter recreation activities within the caribou
recovery area and to develop guidance that clearly reflects where such activities
are and are not appropriate.
3 - Manage predator and alternate prey populations within and adjacent to the
recovery area.
4 - Continue augmentation efforts to increase the population.

To read the full document click here.

November 25, 2008 - Soliciting proposals for restoration or recovery projects for fiscal year 2009 - The Partners for Fish and Wildlife/Recovery programs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service), Upper ColumbiaFish and Wildlife Office (UCFWO) and Central Washington Field Office (CWFO) are soliciting proposals for restoration or recovery projects to be funded during fiscal year 2009.

Projects may consist of restoration, recovery, assessment, or research. Priority will, however, be placed
on "on-the-ground" projects that restore or enhance fish and wildlife and/or their habitats, with emphasis
placed on well-planned projects benefiting federally listed/candidate species and their habitats or
improving listed species numbers. Additional emphasis will be placed on projects that achieve a
published recovery goal.

For more information, and to download the application form, visit:

Partners proposal

Recovery proposal

July 22, 2008 - The U.S. Federal District Court in Missoula, Montana, issued a preliminary injunction on Friday, July 18, 2008, that immediately reinstated the Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. That area includes all of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming and the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon and parts of north-central Utah. This injunction will remain in place until final resolution of this case occurs.

The Endangered Species Act provisions reinstated by the court are the same ones in effect before wolves were de listed on March 28, 2008. Any and all wolf take permits issued by the States under State authorities while wolves were de listed are null and void as of 4:04 p.m. on Friday, July 18, 2008.

All wolves in the southern half of Montana, all of Idaho south of I-90, and all of Wyoming will be managed under the 2005 and 2008 Endangered Species Act nonessential experimental population regulations. To better understand these regulations, please visit the Service’s web site at http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/.

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