Biden Backs The End Of Protections For Wolves. But Worries About Hunting Grow

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President Joe Biden’s administration is sticking by the decision under former President Donald Trump to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S.

Dawn Villella/AP

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Dawn Villella/AP

National
New Idaho Law Calls For Killing 90% Of The State’s Wolves

The removal of Endangered Species Act protections had been in the works for years and was the right thing to do when finalized in Trump’s last days, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Director for Ecological Services Gary Frazer told AP.

On Friday, attorneys for the administration asked a federal judge in California to reject a lawsuit from wildlife advocates that seeks to restore protections, signaling the conclusion of Biden’s promise on his first day in office to review the Trump move.

But wolf management policies in place at the state level have shifted dramatically since protections were lifted, and Frazer suggested the federal government could take steps to restore protections if population declines put wolves back on the path to extinction.

«Certainly some of the things we’re seeing are concerning, he said.

Some states are adopting tactics shunned by wildlife managers

Wisconsin moved quickly to reduce the state’s wolf numbers, after a pro-hunting group with close ties to conservative Republicans won a court order that allowed hunters — some using hounds — to kill 218 wolves in four days.

Meanwhile, Republican-dominated legislatures in Idaho and Montana loosened hunting rules to allow tactics shunned by many wildlife managers, including hunting wolves at night and from the air and payments for dead wolves reminiscent of bounties that drove them to near-extinction.

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A wolf from the Snake River Pack passes by a remote camera in eastern Wallowa County, Ore., in this photo from 2014.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP

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Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP

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A gray wolf is seen near Yosemite, Calif., in February.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP

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California Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP

The Two-Way
Fair Game: Wolf Hunting Begins In Wisconsin, Minnesota

Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general is seeking a court order to oust the board’s chairman, whose term expired in May. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has appointed a successor, but the incumbent is refusing to step down until the Senate confirms the appointment. The Senate, dominated by Republicans, hasn’t held a hearing on the appointment.

Hundreds of wolves are now killed annually by hunters and trappers in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The Northern Rockies’ population has remained strong — more than 3,000 animals, according to wildlife officials — because wolves breed so successfully and can roam huge areas of wild land in the sparsely populated region.

Some state officials are intent on reducing those numbers to curb livestock attacks and protect the big game herds that wolves prey upon. Supporters of restoring protections warn that will tip the scales and reduce wolf numbers to unsustainable levels, while also threatening packs in nearby states that have interconnected populations.

An indication of how deeply federal officials are worried about the states’ wolf policies is expected in the next several weeks, when they respond to petitions filed in June to again put wolves in the U.S. West under federal protections.