Tag Archives: Endangered Species List

Wolf protections expected to be lifted by congress

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A pretty good AP article posted to today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

An attachment to a federal budget bill needed to avert a government shutdown would take gray wolves off the endangered species list across most of the Northern Rockies.

Wildlife advocates conceded Tuesday the wolf provision was all but certain to remain in the spending bill after efforts to remove it failed. Congress faces a tight deadline on a budget plan already months overdue, and the rider has bipartisan support.

It orders the Obama administration to lift protections for wolves within 60 days in five Western states.

Protections would remain intact in Wyoming, at least for now.

Continue reading . . .

Wolf delisting almost certain to be passed by congress

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It now looks very likely that wolves will be removed from the Endangered Species List. Late last night, Senators Tester and Baucus successfully placed a rider in the “must pass” budget bill that restores the 2009 U.S. Fish and Wildlife rule returning management of gray wolves to state-level control in Montana and Idaho. The rider also prevents judicial review of that rule.

In other words, it looks like there will be wolf hunt in Idaho and Montana this year.

Here’s the actual text of the rider, as posted to Sen. Jon Tester’s web site:

SEC. 1713. Before the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule published on April 2, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 15123 et seq.) without regard to any other provision of statute or regulation that applies to issuance of such rule. Such reissuance (including this section) shall not be subject to judicial review and shall not abrogate or otherwise have any effect on the order and judgment issued by the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming in Case Numbers 09–CV–118J and 09–CV–138J on November 18, 2010.

Lawmakers try to lift wolf protection despite settlement deal

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From an AP article posted in yesterday’s Daily Inter Lake . . .

Lawmakers in the West said Friday they will keep pushing to lift federal protections for gray wolves despite a proposed settlement between environmental groups and the Obama administration.

The settlement would end a decade of lawsuits over the animals. But it faces significant legal hurdles that leave uncertain whether court approval will come before lawmakers act.

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Deal reached to lift wolf protections in Montana and Idaho

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From an AP article posted to today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

Facing mounting pressure from Congress, wildlife advocates and the U.S. Department of Interior on Friday reached an agreement to lift gray wolf protections in Montana and Idaho and allow hunting of the predators to resume.

The settlement agreement — opposed by some environmentalists — is intended to resolve years of litigation that have shielded wolves in the Northern Rockies from hunting, even as the predator’s population has sharply expanded.

Continue reading . . .

Also see Earthjustice withdraws from wolf lawsuit , cites rift among groups in the Missoulian.

Officials: Wolf population dips in Northern Rockies

Environmental Issues, News, ,

You’ll need to read the better part of this article to get the full context . . .

The gray wolf population in the Northern Rockies dropped in 2010 — the first annual decline since the animal was reintroduced to the region 15 years ago, federal wildlife officials reported Friday. . .

Fewer wolves in Idaho accounted for the entire 2010 population drop. Wolf numbers increased slightly in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington.

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Tester amends federal budget bill to declare wolves recovered in Montana and Idaho

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From today’s Missoulian . . .

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has inserted language into the Senate’s Continuing Resolution – the bill that funds the entire national budget – declaring the gray wolf a recovered species in Montana and Idaho.

The $1.077 trillion, seven-month spending bill is expected to reach a full Senate vote on Tuesday, and then return to the House of Representatives.

Continue reading . . .

Wolf bills have little chance of passage this year

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The various House and Senate bills aimed at removing Wolves from the endangered species list in some western states are unlikely to go anywhere this year.

From today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

Lawmakers from the Northern Rockies say pending bills aimed at getting gray wolves off the endangered species list have little chance of passage this year.

A time crunch, coupled with unresolved partisan differences on the issue, means several wolf bills introduced in the lead-up to the election are likely to die without action.

Read the full story . . .

Lots of noise about delisting wolves

Environmental Issues, News, ,

An AP article posted to today’s Flathead Beacon surveys the various, competing proposals to remove wolves from the Endangered Species List. Must be an election coming up . . .

Two decades after the federal government spent a half-million dollars to study the reintroduction of gray wolves to the Northern Rockies, lawmakers say it’s time for Congress to step in again — this time to clamp down on the endangered animals.

Read the full article . . .

Montana’s congressional delegation aims to delist wolves

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From today’s Flathead Beacon, here’s some more information on the attempt to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List. This write-up includes links to useful external material . . .

Just days after Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg announced that he had drafted legislation that would remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List, Montana’s Democratic Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester said they were introducing a similar bill.

Read the full article . . .