Groups fight wolf de-listing
Conservation groups are objecting to a federal proposal to remove the gray
wolf from the endangered species list before it is reintroduced to other
parts of the country.
On Wednesday, the groups called on Interior Secretary Gale Norton to
maintain federal protection for the large predator, which is now thriving
in the northern Rockies and the Great Lakes region.
In Colorado, Defenders of Wildlife has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to reintroduce wolves to the southern Rockies.
Wolves returned to the northern Rockies have brought with them a “burst of
biological diversity” and a new influx of tourism dollars, the groups
said.
The Bush administration is expected to release a final rule that calls for
removing the wolf from the endangered species list in the lower 48 states
without further reintroductions.