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center 3 right Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton today announced a proposal to give Idaho New and Montana New more authority to manage wolf populations in their states, consistent with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act.
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New "Wolf populations now far exceed their recovery goals under the Act in the northern Rocky Mountains New, and Idaho New and Montana New have both crafted responsible wolf management plans for their states," Norton said. "Although we are unable at this time to continue with the process to delist the wolf population in the region because we do not have approved plans for all three states, we believe that it is appropriate for us to pursue as much local management for this recovered wolf population as we can."
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1 he Service has been working with Idaho New, Montana New, and Wyoming New as they develop the state management plans that are required under the Act before a species can be delisted.
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1 he proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes that both Montana New and Idaho New have developed wolf management plans that have been approved by the Service. Under the proposal, landowners would be able to take additional steps to protect their livestock and pets from attacks by problem wolves, and the state would be able to issue permits to allow landowners to control wolves that consistently pose a threat to domestic animals.
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1The population of wolves in the Northern Rockies now stands at 761, compared to the 406 predicted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when wolves were reintroduced in 1995. New
